Return to Termina
by Sarge Ray
Summary: An ancient evil is sweeping Termina like a plague and Link must stop it. However, DOING this task will be anything but easy. He must do it while under the influence of a curse. ZxL COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: The call**

Long ago, before the disastrous reign of Majora's Mask, there was already evil in the land of Termina. A powerful warlock virtually had the world in his clutches. Then, four powerful beings from another world depleted his strength and armies to virtually nothing. The only thing the dark one had now was a cursed beast and he used his dark magic to seal the four beings in masks and scattered them to the four corners of the land. Now, the time has come for them to be released, but the warlock will NOT make it easy. His plan is already unfolding.

It was another beautiful day in Hyrule. The birds were singing and there were hardly any clouds in the sky. The sun was shining like a yellow rupee and Link was resting under his favorite tree in his favorite place-right in the middle of Hyrule Field. He was half asleep and could've sworn he saw a cloud that looked like a heart, but then something changed. It turned into Majora's Mask and then split in half. Link blinked at the sight of this and sat bolt upright. He rubbed his eyes and checked if the cloud was still there, but it had just mysteriously disappeared. He decided it was nothing and decided that he would lean back and get a rest. Link lay back down, pulled his hat over his eyes, and went right off to Dreamland.

Link found himself in a big, black nothingness. There were no stars in the sky, not even insects in the air. Then all of a sudden, a pair of red eyes came up close enough for its forehead, if it had one, to touch his. Link leapt back in surprise and reached for his sword, but upon further inspection, he found it wasn't there. Suddenly, another pair of red eyes came out of the dark until there were five pairs of them. Link didn't know what they were, but he did the only thing he could do when there was nothing he could do. He ran for his life, but the creatures were either too quick or he was too slow and they pounced. Link turned in surprise and braced himself for injury, but it didn't come. The beasts didn't hurt him, but seemed to go inside him.

Link inspected his body and didn't see any bite marks, bruises, and didn't even feel a broken bone or even a scratch. Suddenly, he heard a scream and whirled around to see Zelda in on the ground. He gasped, but saw that she was still breathing, but Link had to make sure. He reached out his hand in an attempt to touch the injured princess. But then he heard a faint chanting of some unknown language. The words sounded something like this.

"Ajh-tay Nay-u Yem-oo-ae Sep-shun"

Link didn't even have time to register what was going on when a large, scaly hand seized his head. Link could just see through the gap between his fingers and saw a humanoid dragon made of pure gold and burning orange eyes. This dragon then spoke in a deep, sharp growl.

"And now the light will become the dark!"

No sooner had the dragon said that when the limp body of Zelda changed into that of a kind of beast with red eyes, knife-like teeth, and razor-sharp teeth. Link didn't have time to recognize it when the beast leapt into the air and attacked him with a snarl.

"Zelda!" Link screamed as he woke with a start.

Link's heart was pounding like a jackhammer and he looked around. He saw no beasts, red eyes, dragons, or any other sort. He touched his face and, after a bit of reassuring, he sat back down with a sigh.

"So, you're awake." A voice said.

Link nearly jumped a foot off the ground and found he was face-to-face with Rauru.

"Rauru? But you're supposed to be dead." Link said, trying to find an answer.

"Ganondorf did NOT kill me. He merely sealed me away for the past 5 years. Without the power of Majora's Mask, his power got cut short of sealing me away forever." Rauru informed.

"Oh, thank goodness. Did you see my dream?" Link asked.

"Does Ruto have a crush on you?" Rauru asked.

"You did, didn't you?" Link asked, slightly embarrassed by his comment.

"Yes." Rauru replied, "And before you ask, no. I don't know what your dream means." Rauru added quickly.

Link put his arm down and closed his mouth.

"Well, I better get going now. Goodbye." Rauru said.

He took a few steps back and vanished in a flash of light. Link scratched the back of his head and turned around. Another flash appeared and Link whirled around to see Rauru again.

"One more thing. I need this back." Rauru said.

He reached into Link's sack and pulled out the Light Medallion.

"You no longer need this as the true Light Sage has returned. Also, because I have returned, Zelda is free. You can see her anytime you want. A smile spread across Link's face and he jogged off to the castle.

"Gets him every time." Rauru said, mentally chuckling to himself.

Universes away, a yellow fairy was racing all over the place in fright. It looked like she had just woken up from a nightmare full of carnage. Although if it involved carnage, it was exactly like what she was seeing.

"What do I do? What do I do?! I know! I'll go for Link, he'll know what to do!" Tatl said in panic.

She got a good start and hurried off to the clock tower, but she was unaware that two shady figures were watching her. One was on all fours like an animal and was snarling like one, too. The other was on two legs and was tall, muscular, and armor-plated. The taller one laughed before giving a single command.

"You know what to do." The shadowy person said.

The beast obviously understood this command and bounded off for places unknown. Then, a large red flash of light that seemed to be made of flame with glowing yellow eyes burst right in front of the dark person.

"Stop this RIGHT NOW! Leave the Hero of Time out of this!" It roared.

"Worried about our little hero, aren't we? Well, if there's something you can do about it, I'd like to see you try. You are no more than a spirit, Fire Guardian, and you have no physical contact in this world." The shade reminded.

"Yes," This so-called Fire Guardian said, "But I won't need physical contact to destroy you."

The shade laughed before asking, "And just how will you do that?"

"You'll see." The fire guardian said, its eyes narrowing.

Then, in a flash of red light, it vanished completely.

Tatl followed a trail that led up to the same tunnel Link went down so many years ago and soon found herself in a strange world. It looked a little like Termina, but there was just something different about it. It was obviously less technological than the world she knew; even the air was different. However, Tatl knew that she was on a mission; she knew of Link's stories through Hyrule and raced off to the nearest castle she could find.

Link was enjoying his time with Zelda. They were in the royal garden looking up at the sun and laying back. Once or twice, Link and Zelda rolled around in joy through the flowers. They were almost done with their fun, when something like a pinball smacked Link hard in the head.

"OW! What in the name of Din was that?!" Link shouted.

He massaged the spot furiously and looked around to see Tatl zooming around like a bird that was trapped in the castle. Zelda squinted at the strange sight and then saw it was a tiny ball of light with a pair of insect-like wings.

"Is that Navi?" Zelda asked.

"No. It's an old friend of mine. Her name is Tatl." Link informed.

"Oh, that fairy that helped you in Termina?" Zelda asked.

Zelda had heard plenty about Tatl, but had never actually seen her.

After a few minutes of fluttering around, Tatl saw the face of her old friend and zoomed close to his face. She stopped so suddenly, that had she gone any further, she would have hit Link again.

"Link…it's terrible! People…killings…MONSTER!" Tatl said in fear.

Link was growing tired of this nonsense and put Tatl into a bottle and she immediately piped down.

"Now I'm going to let you out and I want you to tell me what's been going on. Understand?" Link asked.

"Uh-huh." Tatl replied.

Link took the cork off and Tatl hovered out. She took a deep breath and then continued.

"Link, people have been going missing in Termina. There are pools of blood and dead bodies in the field and there have been sightings of a strange beast." Tatl informed.

"WHAT?!" Link asked in disbelief.

Termina was like a second home to Link and he had friends there as well. If anyone was going to save this land, it was going to be him.

"What kind of monster would do that?" Link asked, angered.

However, before Tatl could even answer, Link got up very suddenly

"You can answer me later. C'mon, Tatl. Let's head for Termina."

"Don't think you're going alone, Link. I'm coming too." Zelda informed.

Link turned around in confusion.

"But you have royal duties to attend to." Link told her.

"Don't worry. If I leave Hyrule, my duties are in Impa's care." Zelda informed.

"Well, if I say 'no', you'll just keep bugging me until I do. So, all right. Let's go!" Link said.

Link went back to his house to fetch his sword and shield, then he went to Lon-Lon Ranch for food and drink on their journey. As soon as Link got Epona, Tatl lead the way and they were off to a far corner of the Lost Woods.

Universes away, the shade smiled.

"He took the bait."

Link and Zelda rode through a very misty part of the forest. Some parts of the wood looked the same as another, but Link seemed to know his way.

"Are we there yet?" Zelda asked, a hint of complaining in her voice.

"For the twelfth time," Link paused for a while, holding back the urge to shout. "No." he finished, calmly.

"OOH! LINK! THERE IT IS!" Tatl said as she zipped around the remnants of a huge tree.

Zelda and Link got off Epona, but just before Zelda could pop a question, someone leapt right out of the tree's branches.

"Well, Long time no see, Link." The person said, in a slightly cackling voice like a raven that swallowed helium.

Link rolled his eyes and said, "Hello, Skull Kid."

The Skull Kid wavered his head back and forth, laughing. Then, he went up to Link and spoke again.

"Well, I see Tatl gave you the news of the killings. I must warn you this, there's a..."

Link simply walked past and said, "Yeah, we heard about the monster. Just make sure Epona gets down there."

Link entered the door and Zelda saw him look at a gaping hole in the ground.

"You've got to be kidding..."

"No, I'm not. Now let's just get this over with." Link said as he held Zelda's hand.

However, just before Link jumped, something stirred in his mind. It seemed to be a man's voice, but it was abnormally high-pitched and had a slight vibrating tone in it.

"Help us..."

Link rubbed his temples, but came back to his senses because Zelda spoke.

"Link, what's wrong?"

Link snapped out of it and answered, "Nothing. Nothing's wrong."

Link took Zelda's hand again, and leapt down the hole.

A rainbow of colors flashed around them in the shapes of masks and swords alike. Then, as soon as it had begun, it ended and they both landed on soft ground. Link followed the path and was eventually inside a large tower.

Link pushed open the large wooden door and said, "Welcome to Termina, Zelda. This is Clock Town."

Zelda was amazed at the sight. Link introduced her to all the people in town and vice versa. However, Link didn't forget what he came for.

"Tatl, when have these disappearances occurred?" Link asked.

Tatl popped out of Link's hat and screwed up her face in deep thought. Then it hit her.

"Hmm…They all happened at night when the moon is high in the sky." The yellow fairy informed.

Link nodded and went outside into Termina Field. Zelda was also amazed at this place. It looked a lot like Hyrule Field, but had some differences. The moon, which was once falling, had gone back to its original state and orbit and it no longer looked like a monster.

"Link, shouldn't we be trying to find what's been killing those people?" Tatl asked.

"We don't find it. We let it find us." Link informed.

Tatl forced down a hard gulp and flew away with a quick, "You're on your own, pal."

Link and Zelda still had some time before nightfall, so they went to the ocean, the mountain, the swamp, and the canyon. Zelda loved the views and the different places and would've loved it even more if the disaster to come never happened.

_I'm BAACK! And I have officially graduated from High School! YIPPEE!!_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: The Change**

Night fell on Termina and the moon was now high in the sky. Link was now on guard with his Gilded Sword out and Zelda right behind him. Some time ago, he chose not to go looking for the beast, but to let it come to him. Link's eyes darted back and forth, each looming shadow seeming to be a creature of sorts. Then, suddenly, there was a rustle in the bush and Link whirled around so suddenly, Zelda jumped back.

"Who's there?!" Link shouted into the darkness.

"AAAAAH! DON'T IMPALE ME!" Called a voice.

As Link stood there, his sword aimed for the kill, a Deku Scrub shot out of the bushes, its eyes wide with fright. Link lowered his sword and the Deku Scrub rocketed away at top speed.

"Well, that was a bit unneeded." Zelda said, wiping the sweat from her forehead.

"Yeah," Link said, "For a moment, I thought..."

But what Link thought, Zelda never found out, for a bloodcurdling noise somewhere between a roar and a scream echoed through the night. Link raised his sword with almost lightning speed and Zelda actually screamed. Link could feel the sweat running down his face as he searched frantically for the source of the noise. For a while, neither saw nothing, but they knew it came from a spot just outside the swamp area.

"Stay put." Link said in a hushed voice as he inched closer to the swamp's entrance.

He took a few silent steps closer and saw something on a nearby branch, blowing in the wind. As Link reached over and grabbed it, he found that the stuff was fur, shed by an animal of sorts. Link inspected it for a few seconds, but the roar echoed through the air again. Link looked up and within seconds, saw something other than fur: a pair of great big, yellow eyes peering at him through the bushes. The beast had finally found him.

Link heard footsteps, whirled around, and saw Zelda running for her life. Before Link could go after her, something leapt over him with amazing strength, landed on its feet and began chasing after the panicked princess at more than forty miles per hour.

"Oh, no you don't!" Link snarled as he began sprinting after the animal.

Link had barely gone one step forward when a strange voice sounded in his head.

_You've finally come. Find me in the land where the water was unwanted and I shall help you on your quest._

"The water unwanted? What does that mean?" Link thought to himself.

He then looked forward and remembered that another innocent life was at stake. And the thought of someone he loved made him run all the more faster.

Zelda was about halfway to Clock Town when she tripped and fell face-first in the mud. As she got up, the roar sounded again and she finally saw what made that noise.

It was a truly monstrous creature. It had the head of a wolf, the bulky body of a tiger, the muscular limbs of a bear, the long, thick tail of a crocodile, and the six-inch fangs of a snake. Much to her greater terror, it had glowing, eyes that shone like the moon. The beast reared up on two legs to its maximum height of ten feet tall. Zelda didn't care who heard her scream as the monster thundered toward her. She shut her eyes as tight as they would go as it raised a mighty paw, revealing five-inch claws, ready to rip her to shreds.

Suddenly, it cried out in pain as someone behind it stabbed it in the leg. As Zelda opened her eyes, she saw Link had caught up to the creature and buried his gilded sword in the creature's leg. The creature turned around, forgot about Zelda, and caught Link with its mighty paw just as he pulled the sword out. Link, however, knew he couldn't fight the creature here without putting Zelda at risk, so he got a different plan.

He ran and began leading the monster away from Zelda. In just a matter of minutes of chasing after Link, the beast forgot about the princess in pink.

Link ran as fast as his legs would carry him and went toward the swamp's entrance. Zelda hid in a hollowed tree and waited for her rescuer.

Link had led the creature deep into the Southern Swamp and was standing there, ready for the creature. Once again, he was in the same situation as before; the shadows of the trees seemed to be the beast's as well. As he readied his sword and shield, the voice spoke again. Only now could Link recognize the tone.

_Well, you've come to the right place, my friend. I'm very close._

Link scouted the area quickly, as the beast could jump seemingly out of nowhere. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw it: a mask.

Link looked everywhere; the creature was nowhere in sight. Slowly, Link walked over to a patch of tall grass and picked up the mask.

It was a rather odd mask; it looked like a chimpanzee with a headband and long, maroon hair. It was grinning mischievously, with surprisingly large canines and if you were to look at it, it would look kind of creepy until you get used to it.

_Congratulations. You're now in contact with us..._ The voice in Link's head said.

"Who am I in contact with?" Link asked to no one in particular.

Suddenly, a branch snapped and Link quickly drew his sword. The creature arrived. In what appeared to be a fraction of a second, the beast slammed into Link with almost bone-crushing force. The heavy collision bowled Link right off his feet and the two were rolling around on the ground in a struggle to survive. The creature raked Link with its five-inch claws and dug its fangs into his shoulder, but Link had worse injuries than that. After all, he had been torched by Dodongos, nearly sucked lifeless by ReDead, pounded by Ganon, and beaten by Majora's Wrath himself. THIS was nothing.

Link raised his free arm and punched the creature in the nose. The animal grunted in surprise and released Link, but by the time Link had wiggled free, the beast was on him again. It let loose its bloodcurdling screech and charged again, aimed for the kill. Link dove to the left and the beast missed, but he was further away from his sword than last time. He knew that in order to win, he had to get his sword.

Link took a deep breath and ran after his sword. Apparently, the beast saw him, too and galloped after him. When Link had just touched his sword, the beast was too close to get the sword and make a getaway at the same time. In just a matter of seconds, Link was on the run again with the beast virtually breathing down his neck.

Then, he thought of a plan. Just when the beast was on him, Link rolled in between its legs and jumped on its back, riding it like a bucking bronco. However, this seemed to be the wrong thing to do, because the creature backed into a tree and slammed Link against the trunk. The sudden impact snapped Link's fingers opened and he fell to the ground. The creature shook the suddenness out of its head and began to bat Link between its two paws like a ball. Link was almost completely helpless; all he could do was roll until he managed to get into clear ground. Soon, it happened. With a sudden swat, Link rolled forward and landed on his back. Acting on instinct, he started feeling around; he knew his sword was close. Then, as if the goddesses had heard him, his fingers closed on the hilt of a sword.

The raced toward Link with surprising speed and was now ready to kill Link. When it was close, the beast got up and prepared to crush Link with its massive weight, but Link quickly took out his sword and pointed it upward. In the blink of an eye, there was the sound of steel cutting flesh, moaning, and the creature was standing there with the Gilded Sword driven into its heart.

Link pulled the sword out of the beast and the creature fell forward just when Link got out of the way. Link had a badly ripped tunic, a few gashes, several bruises and a bite mark on his shoulder. It was nothing he couldn't handle.

"Whew. What a hassle. Now, to figure out this mask..." Link said as he turned to walk away.

Suddenly, someone laughed; it was a deep, echoing laugh like Ganondorf's laugh, only a lot darker. Link didn't like this laugh. In fact, it chilled him to the core, because it was eerily familiar. Link slowly turned around and saw that the creature had vanished in an ebony-colored mist. Then it took the form of someone he couldn't make out, but it must have been the source of the voice.

"Who are you?" Link asked it.

"Well done, Link. You did just as well as I expected against that creature." The voice said.

"What? You wanted that beast destroyed?" Link asked.

"He was a bit of a nuisance, but now I have what I want." The voice replied.

Link looked in horror as the mist was coming right at him and a scream was heard as far as Snowhead.

Zelda was miles from the swamp, but she heard the scream too. No matter how much she wanted to run off, she wanted to check it out.

"NO. I must stay here." Zelda said as she stayed put and continued to wait patiently for Link. A few minutes passed, and then she had the sudden feeling that she was being watched and slowly peeked outside the hollowed tree. She then heard a loud howl like a wolf and saw a few tracks that looked like a Wolfos': four digits and padded paws. However, Wolfos walked on all fours. These tracks looked like it was bipedal. A wolfos didn't make these tracks, but something did.

Suddenly, a beast came from on top of the tree and snarled. Zelda screamed as she saw a strange, wolfish creature was clinging to the trunk of the tree with its claws. It took a swing just when Zelda hurried away. A cloud shifted, causing the grassy ground to lose the moon's shine. Zelda was scared to death by what happened. She paused for a second or two to catch her breath, resting on a nearby tree. Just as she regained her breath, she turned around and nearly walked into…Link.

"Link! Thank goodness you're okay." She said as she hugged him.

Link hugged back, but then stopped for some reason. Then all of a sudden, a cage fell, seemingly from the sky, catching both of them.

"It's a trap!" Link said in surprise as he gripped the bars.

"Well, well, well! If it isn't that 'The moon is falling!' kid. Ooh! Who's this? Your girlfriend?" A taunting voice said.

Link turned and saw two people with spears. He remembered these people from his previous journey. Apparently, they didn't believe him until the moon was just about ready to come down. They saw it with their own eyes, but didn't believe it anyway.

"We're gonna make sure you don't spread any more rumors, kid." The first one said.

"No more driving people out of their houses. You understand?" The second asked.

Link growled, but not as he normally would. Normally, it was just a sign of irritation. Now, it sounded like a cross between an angry roar and a beast's snarl. He wrapped his fingers around the bars of the cage and slowly, but surely, bent them open. Link and Zelda walked out of the cage and Link went up to the first one.

"How did you..."

The person didn't finish, because Link picked him up by the shirt and tossed him more than fifteen feet away. The other guy stood there, mouth agape at Link's surprising strength: The man he just threw was much bigger than he was.

"Alright. I guess trapping you won't be enough. We'll just have to DISPOSE of the rumors." The second person said.

He gave a shrill whistle and three more people surrounded them with their spears lowered. Eventually, the one Link just tossed joined in and pointed his spear at him.

"This is bad..." Link said.

Link's eyes raced around the circle, looking for any gap they could escape through. As he was looking around, Link got a good look at the cloud covering the moon and saw that it was moving.

"Zelda! GET OUT OF HERE! NOW!" Link ordered.

Zelda looked surprised as Link said this. These guys couldn't be any threat to her with him around. What could be wrong?

"Link?" She asked.

Link began to back away as though someone was pulling him on an invisible rope. It looked pretty bizarre to the guys with the spears as they tilted their heads in confusion.

Then, Link crouched as though someone was flogging him. He was also writhing in pain as he had never felt before.

"What's with THIS circus act?" The guy Link tossed asked.

Zelda's heart was hammering against her ribs, as though wanting to break free of its prison, and her eyes were acting as though a harmful chemical was entering them. Then, Link looked up one last time and said three words.

"Zelda! RUN NOW!"

Link began tearing his shirt off as his muscle mass increased beyond the seams of his tunic. His fingernails grew and sharpened into two-inch claws. His teeth turned into fangs and his face was turning into something like a dog's. His blond hair began spreading all over his body, forming fur the color of straw. His ears maneuvered to the top of his head, making it look even more like a rabid dog. His feet also got claws and they actually ripped his boots. When the transformation was complete, Link opened his eyes, which now shone like the moon above and he let out a loud howl at the full moon. Link had turned into a werewolf and was craving human flesh.

Zelda had one chance to run for her life and she took it. She ran as fast as her gown would let her and she heard men shouting and Link growling. Behind her, a man had brandished a spear at Link, but the mighty wolf-creature grabbed it and snapped it like a twig with a simple flick of his wrist. In the next second, he took the man by the head and spun him into a nearby tree, snapping his back.

He leapt forward, pinned the nearest man, sank his teeth into him, and ripped the man's throat out before devouring the chunk of windpipe. If there was any sign of Link in that monster, it surely wasn't showing. The next man jabbed at Link with his own spear and almost got him in the back, but Link jumped to the side and pounced. He landed on top of his oppressor, pinned his arm to the ground, and began ripping at him with his claws. When he was finished, the man was no more than a lifeless, bleeding hunk of flesh. When the other three saw what happened to their comrades, they didn't fight back. They simply dropped their spears and ran off.

Link wolfed down part of the dead men, but looked up and saw Zelda enter Clock Town. It was in the nature of a predator to seize an easy meal; Link did so and chased after his next meal.

Zelda saw Link chasing her on all fours with demonic speed and only ran faster. She ran through the gateway and began running anywhere she could until she turned a corner and hid in a dark alleyway. She peered out of it and saw Link enter the scene, scouting the place. Link looked around with his glowing eyes, but didn't see Zelda anywhere. He sniffed the air, but the breeze was downwind of his prey and he couldn't smell anything. Eventually, he lost interest in the chase and bounded away to who-knows-where.

Zelda let out a sigh of relief when suddenly, a pair of hands clapped over her mouth and pulled her backwards. She nearly screamed, but a calm voice spoke.

"Shh! Follow me." It instructed.

The person was a man and was pulling her toward a kind of inn. He sat Zelda down onto a bed and took his hands off her mouth. Zelda calmed down and got a good look at this man. He was still pretty young, but was an adult. He had brown eyes, purple hair, and a small, thin mustache.

"Who are you?" Zelda asked.

The man rummaged around in his pockets and showed her something. It was a pictograph and it had a picture of Link as a boy with another young one around his age. It was pretty cute once she thought about it.

"You see that boy next to Link?" The man asked.

Zelda simply nodded, as the chase had taken so much out of her.

"That's me." The man told her.

For a while, Zelda was quiet. But suddenly, she was confused mixed with surprised.

She cocked an eyebrow and asked, "What? You must be twenty-five years old, but you don't look a day over ten in that picture."

"Has Link told you the story of when he went into Termina before? He told you about a man that was cursed and turned into a child. I am that man, I am Kafei." The man informed.

Zelda stood there in awe. Kafei then sat down on the bed next to her and folded his hands, as though praying.

"I know who that monster is. It's Link. He's under a curse." Kafei told her.

"How did you know that's Link? Anyone could be that creature." Zelda asked.

"It depends. Did Link come across a strange beast?" Kafei asked.

"Y-y-yes. Yes he did." Zelda said, trying to regain her composure.

"Link has been cursed." Kafei said as he pulled out a book.

He flipped through the pages and pointed his finger at a certain point. Zelda looked at a picture in the book; it looked exactly like the monster he was fighting when he left.

"Did Link kill this beast? Because if he did, this is VERY bad. According to this, because Link killed the creature, he will change into a different animal depending on the phase of the moon. The moon was full, so he's the werewolf you saw. During each phase of the moon, he'll turn into a different creature until the curse fully envelops him. When that happens, he will transform into the exact same creature you saw tonight, and will be beyond our power to help." Kafei told her.

"I know. I saw him change into that monster." Zelda said, lowering her head in sadness.

"I know how you feel. I too had been cursed and many people couldn't remember who I was." Kafei informed, "I do know this. If there's no moon in the night sky, Link will remain the person he is."

If this was comforting, it obviously didn't show. Zelda looked as gloomy as ever, so Kafei decided to make up for it.

"Stay here tonight. You need rest and we don't want to be outdoors at this time." Kafei said as he got up and left the room.

It was a long night. Zelda heard snarls, howls, and screams of innocent people that wandered outside the town. She didn't even sleep that night; she just lay in the bed, staring at the ceiling.

"Why did it have to be a cursed beast? If we didn't come to Termina, none of this would be happening. Wait..." She thought, "If that beast had a curse on it, someone must have put it there. Something tells me that there's more to this beast than I thought."

The rooster crowed and the sun began to peek over the horizon. The moon was gone and, quite abruptly, there was a loud snarl. But this snarl wasn't of aggression, it was of pain. Zelda flung open a window, looked outside, and saw Link in his werewolf mode. He was on the ground and was writhing in pain like an earthworm that had been impaled. The fur was slowly disappearing and his claws, jaws, fangs, and his muscle mass was returning to normal.

After the last bit of fur disappeared, Link lay on the ground, gasping for breath. Zelda rushed down the stairs without even bothering to change out of her pajamas and had just walked out the door when Link faded into unconsciousness. She walked over to him and gently picked him up. She then took him into the inn, put him in a vacant bed, and cried silently.

_If things were tough then, things are a LOT worse now. Can Link be cured?_


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Guardians**

Link's eyes fluttered open to find himself in a warm bed with a new shirt on. His hat, however, was nowhere to be seen. He moaned as he tried to fully wake up and saw Zelda.

"Zelda? Are you okay?" He asked weakly.

Zelda nodded, but remained silent. Link then looked around to try and find out where he was.

"Where...am I?" Link asked to no one in particular.

"The Stock Pot Inn." A male voice answered.

Link turned in his bed to see Kafei enter with Anju. He tried to get up, but Anju put a hand on his chest and laid him back down.

"Easy, Link. You've been out for hours and that curse didn't exactly help you." Anju explained.

Link turned over on his stomach, away from the attention. Though Zelda couldn't see his face, she knew that he was feeling guilty and worried.

"I...killed all those men." Link said, as close to crying as Zelda ever saw him.

"Link, it wasn't your fault. You were cursed, so..." Zelda said, but Link just talked over her.

"But what if I hurt someone else or you next? What if I have to live with this curse for the rest of my life?"

"You won't," Kafei quickly pointed out, "There is a cure. Unfortunately, I haven't found it anywhere, no matter how hard I looked."

Link was surprised. He never thought of Kafei as the intellectual type, so why was he trying to figure this curse out?

"Hey, Kafei, how do you know about the curse?" Link asked with as close to a shrug as he could get.

Kafei was about to answer when Anju butted in.

"Kafei, have you been trying to read about that creature again?" Anju asked.

Kafei froze like someone caught at the scene of a crime and slowly turned. He then spoke, but it sounded as though he really didn't want to talk about this for a while.

"I've been researching curses and how to cure them. I can't let a curse work on me again, can I?"

"Kafei, I know how you feel about Link. But we have a family to take care of now." Anju reminded.

She was right; somewhere in the room was a little kid around seven years old. It was a little girl with hair like her father, but eyes like her mother. Kafei looked at his daughter and then back at Anju.

"Anju, if it wasn't for Link. This family wouldn't even exist." Kafei told his wife, trying to make sense out of it.

Link was watching the two bicker and had just decided to give them space when a voice spoke in his head.

"You've found the first of us. Now, you must find my brother. He will be in the temple where things are not as they appear." It said.

Link slipped on his boots and took his shield and sword, which Kafei had recovered from the field earlier that morning, and quietly snuck out the door of the inn.

Link had just reached Termina Field when the mask he recovered started to glow bright green. He shielded his eyes, and when the light cleared, he saw the astral form of a strange monkey. It looked nothing like the monkeys in the swamp; it looked more like a chimpanzee with a long tail. It was also wearing a ragged-looking tunic the color of autumn leaves and his face looked exactly like the mask's.

"Greetings, Hero of Time." It said in a high voice close to a chatter.

Link was stunned at how a spirit of an animal could be in this mask. And, stranger still, the animal was completely sentient.

"Who are you and how do you know me?" Link asked.

"My name is Simeon, Guardian of Earth. You found me in the South, but my brothers need your help." The monkey said, balancing itself on a wooden staff easily twice as long as he was tall...on his finger.

Link could tell he already didn't like this primate.

"What...exactly do you suggest I do?" Link asked, trying hard not to show irritation.

"My suggestion would be to find my brother in the East. You should find him in the Stone Tower Temple somewhere. As for finding him, you're on your own." The monkey said, hopping down from his staff.

Link was about to ask another question, when the monkey waved happily and vanished in green light.

"Who does that guy think he is?" Link asked himself.

Link looked up at the canyon before him. He was fortunate to find the Eastern Exit of Clock Town otherwise it would have taken him all night to find it.

Link was exploring Ikana Canyon. Even though it had been years since Gibdos roamed it, it still seemed haunted and he still somewhat expected a zombie to jump out and attack him. Link remained on guard, fingering his sword. He had just reached the entrance to the Stone Tower when a small gong sounded and a similar cloaked figure fell in front of him; a Garo.

"It will take you all night to navigate the tower. The quickest way lies with me." The Garo said, pointing at Link with an extension of its cloak.

"Well, can I get in?" Link asked, knowing what the answer would be.

"Not unless you prove yourself." The Garo said, drawing a pair of swords.

Link drew his Gilded Sword and his shield as he prepared for combat. As they began circling each other, Link couldn't help but smile.

"You find a fight amusing?" The Garo asked.

"Oh, it's not that. It's just I haven't had a normal spar in a while." Link answered, his grin unwavering.

"If it's a spar you want, let it begin!" The Garo said, raising its blades.

The Garo charged and attempted to cleave Link in two like a pair of scissors. However, Link put his sword in between the spirit's blades and stopped the attack. The sudden stop surprised the Garo and Link took quick advantage to kick it in the stomach. Though it didn't harm the Garo, it did knock it back several feet. It charged again, this time, jumping through the air like a living tornado. Link raised his shield and blocked most of the strikes and took a swing at him only to miss.

"Not bad, warrior. I must give you credit for swordsmanship." The Garo said.

"Well, you are fighting the Hero of Time. I think you could cut me some slack." Link said, as though fighting a long-time rival.

The Garo flipped through the air and was just about to come down when Link rolled forward. The Garo's balance was completely thrown off and by the time he landed, Link's sword was aimed at its back. Instantly, the Garo sheathed its blades and turned to face Link.

"Well done, Hero of Time. As a reward for defeating me, I shall take you inside the Stone Tower Temple." It said, bowing.

"Alright. But make it quick, okay?" Link asked.

The Garo raised the part of its cloak that would have held its arms and in a whirlwind of dust, Link vanished.

When Link stopped spinning, he looked around. This was the Stone Tower Temple alright. Now came the part of finding Dracon. That's when help came when he needed it. The minute he found the nearest door, a voice spoke, but it wasn't the high chatter of Simeon. It was still somewhat high-pitched, but had an echoing tone in it, like someone was speaking through a fan.

"I'm through this door, but look far and wide. I am in danger of falling in the wrong hands, so act with haste." It said.

"Well, that's a good hint." Link said, surprised, as he walked through the door.

Link looked around and saw a room with several pools of lava in it. How could a mask survive in a room? As Link looked around, he saw someone else; a man with a mask in his hands. He didn't seem to know Link was there. In fact, he didn't even know how close he was to the lava.

"I'll bet that guy's trying to steal that mask. And my best guess is, judging from the hint, is that must be Simeon's brother." Link thought to himself.

Link slowly crept toward the man, trying hard not to make a single noise. He was easily an arm's length away from him when suddenly, the man turned to leave and saw that someone else was with him.

"Who are you?!" The man asked in surprise.

Without thinking, Link seized the mask and attempted to wrench it from the man's grip. The man held on tight as they tussled for it, spinning like dancers in the process. Link acted on instinct, again, and kicked the man where the sun didn't shine. The man howled in pain as he bent forward and Link took advantage to punch him in the face. The man fell backward, but then the tip of his boot touched the scalding lava and he burst into flame. The screams the man emitted were like nothing Link had ever heard before. But inside, he knew it was the right thing. Whoever this Simeon guy was, he obviously wanted to save his brothers.

Link turned to leave and had just reached the exit when the mask's eyes glowed and its spirit spoke.

"Thank you." It said in its echoing voice again.

"Not a problem. Now to get you to Simeon..." Link said as he opened the door.

He waited for a while, but then came to the conclusion that the Garo's offer was a one-way ticket only.

"This just isn't worth it." Link said as he began the strenuous journey down the Stone Tower.

Back in the temple, the man had just crawled away from the lava. But for him, it seemed a little too late. His whole body was blood red and throbbing and his breathing was erratic. For him, time was not on his side.

Then came a strange, dark figure. It was grinning maliciously and chuckling a deep, dark laugh as it reached toward him and changed form.

"I will keep you alive, but you must promise me one thing: you will kill the Hero of Time even if I somehow fail." It suggested, "Do we have a deal?"

"Y-yes..." The man said in a hoarse whisper.

Link had just arrived at Termina Field with the new mask in tow. He then stashed it in his sack and headed off for Clock Town.

"So eager to kill more people, are you?" A familiar voice asked.

"Oh no...not you!" Link said, recognizing the voice.

The voice had belonged to the guy who had cursed him.

"I will not put more people's lives in jeopardy!" Link said, remaining rooted to the spot.

"Think what you will, my friend. But you may kill more people than you imagine. Like HER." The voice said, speaking in another direction.

Link whirled to the direction of the voice and saw Zelda running at him, happy to see him. Link shook his head, took a step back, then took off in the opposite direction and ran.

"Link! What are you doing?! The moon isn't full!" She shouted after him.

Zelda chased after Link, but then noticed it was getting dark and that the left half of the moon was missing. Link was easily outrunning her, but then he came to a complete stop and screamed to the heavens. Zelda was wondering why Link was doing this even if the moon wasn't full, but then remembered what Kafei said about the curse. She was paralyzed with fear and didn't even scream at what happened next.

_Ooh, what'll Link turn into? Stay tuned and find out._

_Read and Review--Dimensiondude_


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: The Striped Assassin**

Link's muscle mass increased beyond that of the werewolf. By the time he was finished, he was as bulky as Ganondorf, was eight feet tall, and weighed five hundred pounds. His once-yellow hair spread all over his body as it was dyed orange and black stripes appeared as though painted on there with an invisible brush. His massive hands sprouted five three-inch claws and his canines grew until they were four inches long. Zelda found out why Link wasn't too pleased about being reunited. Link wasn't a wolf, but a humanoid tiger, his shirt gone yet again. He turned around, snapped open his new yellow eyes, bared his teeth, and let out a loud roar that could be heard a mile away.

The dark figure that had cursed Link appeared, roosted on one of the gates of Clock Town like a bird of prey. He smiled as he watched Link transform and decided to have a bit of fun.

"Time to test his prowess. And what better to test him on than a few worthless minions?" He said as he snapped his fingers and vanished.

Then, out of nowhere, several Dinolfos appeared in puffs of deep blue smog. Unlike the previous ones, they wielded no swords, axes, or even a weapon. All they were armed with were their teeth, claws, and agility. Link turned his attention away from Zelda and on the new challengers. All the Dinolfos let loose challenging shrieks while Link let loose another roar, accepting it. When Link finished, the Dinolfos struck.

The massive reptiles leapt into the air and landed on Link, clambering around his body like scaly, bloodthirsty monkeys. They dug their teeth and claws into him and often clambered away from thrashing claws. Link growled in pain; even though his wounds healed quickly, they still hurt. He suddenly lurched forward, shaking one Dinolfo off his shoulder and seized it in his muscular hand. He threw it forward, lifted it to his head and clamped its jaws on its shoulder. He then pulled the lizard down with his muscular arms and ripped a huge chunk of the lizard's shoulder. He dropped the lizard, swallowing the meat in the process, but just as he thrashed again, the other Dinolfos scattered, wanting to avoid the fate of the one he killed.

A Dinolfo charged with its claws aimed for the kill, but Link ran over to it, grabbed its head, making sure to dig his claws in, and flung it into another with a sickening crack and killing them both. Another one ran at Link with its claws and teeth bared, but Link grabbed it by the arm and slashed the lizard with his knife-like claws. The Dinolfo clutched its stomach, which was now spewing a strange, almost black mix and Link slashed it again, this time across the face. The monster fell to the ground with ruptured organs and five large gashes across its face, a mix of blood and intestinal juices.

Apparently by now, the Dinolfos had realized that if Link kept his hands, he was a threat. One tried snapping at Link's hand, but Link turned. Three more times, the Dinolfo snapped, but it never got its pound of flesh. Then, Link reached under it, and with a tremendous heave, threw it at another oncoming monster. He was about to kill another one when another Dinolfo dug its teeth into his forearm. Link roared in pain as the Dinolfo dug its teeth in deeper and deeper. Link whirled around, avoiding another Dinolfo, then seized the Dinolfo biting him on the nose and pried him off before slashing its throat open with his knifelike claws. Another Dinolfo charged, its jaws aimed to bite Link, but Link ran over to it with a loud snarl, seized it by its open jaws, and sunk his teeth into something inside. A minute later, with a loud ripping noise, Link had something that looked like a big pink worm in his mouth, but was actually the Dinolfos' tongue. Then, after Link spat the tongue out, Link opened the Dinolfos' mouth beyond its limit and ripped open the jaw with a sickening CRUNCH. One Dinolfo got on Link's back, but Link thrashed, bringing the reptile into his massive hand. He grabbed the lizard by the arm and ripped its limb right out of the socket. The lizard screamed in pain as Link reached behind him again and seized it by the head. He wrenched it to the ground, breaking its neck in the process.

There were now only three Dinolfos left and they charged with their claws ready, despite what happened to their fellow comrades. Link roared again and prepared to kill them all in one fell swoop. To some, it may have seemed like forever, and to some it may have seen like a matter of seconds. It all happened with three movements. Link dashed past one with his claws out; that Dinolfo had its stomach ripped open by the three-inch claws of the tiger. Link jumped over one and seized something; this monster had its head ripped off by the mighty tiger-man's hand. Finally, Link pounced and landed on the final Dinolfo; the last one had a bone-crushing bite to the back of the neck.

Link roared, as though daring the Dinolfos to get back up. He grabbed one and shook it as though it was asleep. When Link's beast mind had acknowledged it was dead, he pulled his arms apart and unleashed a roar to the sky in victory.

When he was finished with the Dinolfos, Link turned around and saw another potential kill: Zelda. His pupils narrowed into slits and charged. Zelda quickly turned away and ran as fast as she could, but Link was galloping faster than he was when he was a werewolf: about fifty miles per hour. But Zelda still ran, despite the disadvantage. To make the disadvantage worse, Zelda tripped and landing face-first in the dirt. The great tiger was now only ten feet away. All Zelda could do now was scrunch her eyes shut and wait for the worst.

It didn't come. All was quiet, save the unholy ruckus coming from where Link was. As Zelda slowly opened her eyes, she saw Link trapped with a net pinning him down. He struggled, pulling at the tight ropes with his large muscles. Those ropes wouldn't hold for long.

"I know what to do, but I must act quickly!" A voice said.

Zelda felt someone run past her and get on top of the struggling beast, trying to put something around his neck. Kafei had apparently seen the moon from a window and tried to find Link. Link was thrashing around, snarling, trying to get the purple-haired man off and had just freed his left arm. When the thing was placed around his neck, Link broke free of the net and Kafei quickly hopped off to find shelter. the tiger stopped thrashing and closed its eyes as it reared to its full height. As he opened his eyes, they no longer seemed feral anymore.

_Huh? Where am I? What am I doing here?_ Link thought.

The great tiger turned and saw Zelda, still cowering in fear. Slowly, he approached her. He tried to whisper, but only emitted a soft growl. He clutched his throat, but then looked back at Zelda, who looked back at him.

Zelda stared in awe and asked, "Link? Is that really you?"

Link knew he couldn't talk now, so he improvised. He slowly nodded. Zelda reached out with her hand to touch Link's catlike face. On touch, she flinched, afraid that Link might still be a monster. Then, she stroked his face and Link closed his eyes, enjoying the experience. Then, Zelda couldn't hold it anymore. She burst into tears and flung herself into Link's arms; Link held her in his mighty arms: the same ones that killed so many monsters.

"This is called the Mind Pendant. I found it while I was at the canyon. As long as Link wears this, he'll be able to control himself even when he's a beast." Kafei informed.

"Ahem!" A female voice coughed.

Kafei froze, then slowly turned on the spot. There, at the gate, was Anju with a scornful look on her face.

"Anju, If I hadn't studied that, Zelda would be dead! Would you rather that beast kill her or anyone else?"

"Just do what you have to as long as it isn't about me or your daughter like you did the last three years." Anju said, gloomily, before turning heel and walking back into town.

Kafei shook his head and looked at Link. Link was looking at him through his large, yellow eyes with a look of disappointment on his catlike face.

"Not you, too. I'm doing what's best for me." Kafei tried to explain.

Link didn't reply. Instead, he just growled and walked away with Zelda close in his arms.

_I can't believe he hasn't been with his own flesh and blood for three years. I thought he'd be better than that when the curse was lifted._ Link thought to himself.

"Link, WAIT!" Kafei said, trying to catch up to him.

Kafei tried to touch him, but when he had just brushed Link's fur, he whirled around turned around and snarled that seemed to say "Back off". Kafei recoiled in surprise as Link continued to walk off toward the mountains, guided only by forces unknown. Kafei slowly fell to his knees and stared at the ground. What was the use of knowledge if no one appreciated it?

_So, Link will turn into a different beast depending on the phase of the moon. And here, he turns into a tiger. What next?_

_Read and Review--Dimensiondude_


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: The Next Guardian**

Zelda was riding on the back of a humanoid tiger on his way to the mountains. The sun wouldn't rise for several hours and Link couldn't fight if he didn't have his arms ready, so he let Zelda ride him like a striped, beastly stallion.

_Your friend freed you from the curse, dear friend. Now, if you want any help on Goldra, you'll have to collect ALL of my brethren. That means that there are now only two more._ A high-pitched voice said.

It was the voice that issued from the dragon-like mask Link had recovered from Ikana Canyon. He knew he had done the right thing of rescuing him, but he still couldn't help but feel that the man that got pushed in the lava was far from gone. He spoke to himself, but now he could do so without being noticed, for he now only spoke tiger.

"Alright, that monkey..." Link began, but the chattery voice cut him off.

_That's Simeon, Hero._ It corrected.

"Simeon, then. I found him in the swamp in the south and I found that dragon in the canyon in the west. If I'm correct, then the others will be in the north and the east." Link said to himself.

"Link?" Zelda asked, not exactly understanding the low growls, "Is something wrong?"

Link turned his catlike head to face Zelda and shook it before heading off for the mountains again. Normally, Zelda would try to worm the answer out, but seeing as Link couldn't talk, she left him alone. She would have to wait until morning to talk it out.

Within minutes, Link was back at the entrance of the Northern Mountains. However, he quickly saw that the ice blocking his path seven years ago was still there, blocking his path.

"Great. We can't get in." Zelda said as she hung her head.

Link looked up and saw the same ledge with the pillar of ice. After realizing his form was different, he realized his abilities would be different, too. He reared up on his hind legs and dropped Zelda on the ground. At the suddenness of being dropped, Zelda looked up at Link, who looked back at her with as much of an apologetic look as his tiger face could show. Link turned toward the wall, crouched down, and with amazing strength, he leapt clean over it. The minute he landed on the other side, he galloped off into the frozen peak.

Link looked around and started sniffing through the snow. The cold wasn't getting to his new tiger form as much as it did when he was human. Link's new fur was keeping him warm and for once, he was actually glad to be in the snow.

_Now, where is the next mask?_ Link thought to himself as he sniffed the ground.

Suddenly, his sensitive nose caught an unfamiliar scent. It wasn't wood, but a creature's, and Link had had too many bad experiences with unfamiliar creatures. He looked up just in time to see a large white beast. Link couldn't identify it, but it looked like a cross between a polar bear and a lion. It had pure white fur and claws, but it had a catlike build and a long tail like his. Link didn't have time to ponder what it was, because it was approaching at high-speed. By the time Link realized it was a threat, the beast slammed into him.

Link rolled when the beast hit and they toppled around, their claws and teeth ripping at each other. The beast had Link pinned when the hero put up his feet and kicked his opponent off. Strangely, when Link got to his feet, the beast spoke in a roar.

"It is by the Dark Lord's orders you shall DIE!"

Link scoffed and roared his own challenge back at the beast. They then charged again, this time on both their feet, and immediately started trying to wrestle each other to the ground. Link then seized him around the head with one hand and punched the beast with his fist. Link was hoping that the blow would wind the beast, but the beast acted as though nothing happened. The beast seized Link by the head and spun him around like a discus before tossing him a good twenty feet away. Link landed on his feet only to meet his opponent head on. The beast tackled Link to the ground again, only this time, seizing him around the midsection.

Link wrestled back to his feet and seized one arm of the beast that attacked him. He used his other arm to get his opponent's neck and then dug his teeth into his opponent's shoulder. The beast let loose a roar in pain as they fell forward. Link had his opponent pinned and continued trying to bite his opponent. However, the beast simply flipped Link forward with his feet and the hero landed on the edge of a nearby cliff. Link felt the blood rush to his head and quickly got up and slashed his opponent across the chest. Blood stained the white creature's fur, leaving a mark like war paint and the beast howling in pain. The beast took its own claws and swiped Link across the face with them. Link clutched his face just when the beast shoulder-tackled him. Link couldn't find any footing at all and fell off the edge of the cliff. He reached out blindly and grabbed the cliff's ledge, his claws digging into the rock and his feet constantly kicking the rock to try and get footing. The beast towered over Link as he struggled, but Link soon realized that the creature left itself vulnerable. With his last burst of energy, Link reached up and seized the creature by the foot. The creature clearly didn't expect this and tried pulling its leg free, but Link's grip was true. Link pulled and pulled until the creature's weight became its downfall. The beast fell down the cliff to its death as Link tried to pull himself back up.

Link sighed in relief as he clambered back on the cliff. As he sat down, he suddenly heard another voice.

_Not bad for someone with a new body._ It said, almost sarcastically.

Link turned and soon, his nose pinpointed the scent he was looking for. He went over to a nearby snowball and started digging through it. Eventually, his sharp claws scratched some very hard wood.

_OW! Watch where you put those things!_ The voice said again.

This voice was different from Dracon or Simeon. It was soft and calm, but dead serious. Link continued digging through the snow until he came upon the mask and, with difficulty, pulled it out.

The mask was very birdlike in appearance. It looked like the head of a bald eagle with the feral yellow eyes to match. Suddenly, in a flash of white light, the mask's astral form revealed itself. It was a humanoid eagle wearing a headband while feathers stuck out like spiky hair. It had a shirt that looked as though it was made from animal hide and its pants, too. Attached to its belt was a sword that was made of pure silver. It had orange, scaly feet like a bird's that ended in three toes, each ending in five-inch talons. What amazed Link the most was when it spread out a pair of ten-foot wings, giving it a twenty-foot wingspan.

"Thank you for saving me, Link. I am Garuda, the wind guardian." It said in the same tone it used when Link scratched it.

_You can hear my thoughts?_ Link said in thought.

"Of course I can. I know that tigers can't talk." It countered, "And before you ask, NO. I can't tell you everything."

Link hung his head.

"Don't worry, Hero of Time. All painful things pass and I'm sure that you will make it through this all right. Now, take me back to my brethren. I'm feeling a little weak." It spoke in a very wise tone.

The bird-guardian folded its wings across its front as it vanished in white light. For a while, Link stared at the spot. Then he took off at breakneck speed, the snow pelting his fur like bullets.

Link had just gotten out of the pathway in a single bound and had just reached Termina when he immediately saw Zelda waiting for him.

"Oh, there you are. Did you find what you were looking for?" Zelda asked, waving to him.

Link was about to go join her when he noticed something fishy. His night-adept eyes saw something run on top of the roof of a house and jump to another one. Without warning, Link leapt over Zelda and landed on the roof.

"Link? Where are you going?!" Zelda called, knowing that Link couldn't answer.

Link was leaping over buildings like a squirrel and was beginning to catch up to the creature. After countless minutes, he was finally close enough to get a good view of it. It was small, scaly, and scrawny-looking; if Link wasn't in control, that would seem like a good prey item. The creature was very lizardlike in appearance and was running on two legs like an odd dinosaur. After a while, it turned its head, saw Link chasing after it, and decided to run faster. Then, with a great surge of adrenaline, Link reached out with his muscular hand and seized the creature by the shoulder. He whirled the creature around and pinned it with both his muscular arms. Surprisingly, the creature spoke in a very terrified voice.

"AAAAH! PLEASE DON'T HURT ME!!" The creature begged.

It had a high and scratchy voice, but he was probably bluffing. Still, Link didn't like it, but he had a few questions.

"Who are you working for?" Link growled.

"I-I-I don't know what you're talking about. I work alone!" The lizard said.

Link had just realized that the creature actually understood him when suddenly, a blast hit Link in the face and he was sent five feet backwards. Link slid off the roof to the ground and looked up to see a black-cloaked figure behind the creature with his arms folded across his chest. He couldn't see his face due to the hood, but he recognized something about it.

"I see that my servant caught your attention." A familiar voice said.

Link instantly recognized that voice from the area he killed that beast. It was the same thing that spoke from the black mist.

"You!" Link tried to say, but he only emitted a loud growl.

"Yes, it's me." The man said, as though Link were a dull-witted kid.

"Wait. You understand me?" Link asked.

"Of course I do. You were cursed by MY pet." The man told the hero, "And soon you will be my NEW servant." He added to emphasize his point.

Link had never been so angry in his life and roared at the cloaked man. The man didn't recoil at all, but laughed instead.

"I'm going to kill you for this!" Link growled as he advanced on his opponent.

He raised a massive hand to slice the man open, but the black-clad evil lifted his hand and another spell blasted Link in the face. The mighty tiger was sent backwards again and could barely stand. Link was amazed by his strength; that one blast had virtually disabled him.

"Have you learned your lesson yet, boy?" The man asked, seeming very frustrated with him, "You cannot defeat your new master."

The mand chuckled as Link looked up in purest loathing and bared his sharp teeth.

"Who are you?!" Link roared.

"How unkind of me to not introduce your new ruler. I am Goldra the Dark, ruler of all Termina."

"You will NOT take Termina unless you kill me first!" Link said with purest determination.

"I'm sure you will. Unfortunately, we have no time to play." Goldra said, pointing at the sky.

Link looked up and noticed that the moon was setting and the sun was rising. He roared in a mixture of pain and fury as his muscle mass shrank down to normal and everything beastlike changed back to normal. His fury was also focused at Goldra, who was watching him suffer and standing over him.

"Think about it, Link. Come, my servant." Goldra barked.

The lizardlike servant ran over to Goldra, almost timidly, and they both vanished. Link was very exhausted and he couldn't stand anymore. He fell to the ground and was out like a light.

_So, we meet again, Goldra... Unfortunately, he and Link don't fight for a while._

_Read and Review--Dimensiondude_


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Set Straight**

Link woke up with Zelda and Kafei peering down at him again. He tried to get up, but Zelda laid him back down.

"Take it easy, Link. You need rest before you can go out adventuring again." Zelda informed, "Why'd you just run off like that?" She added.

"I saw something suspicious and had to investigate." Link answered, barely strong enough to lift his arm.

"Well, what was it?" Zelda asked.

"It was a lizardlike creature. After I chased it down, I found that it was serving some cloaked man named 'Goldra the Dark.'" Link answered.

Kafei recoiled. For a while, Link simply stared at him, then he spoke.

"What?" Link asked.

"Did you just say 'Goldra?'" Kafei asked.

"Yeah." Link answered.

"Goldra is the most evil and dangerous man in Termina. He's the one who cursed you!" Kafei informed.

"I know he cursed me, I just didn't know about him and how feared he is." Link said apologetically.

"I understand…it's just I've never seen someone speak of him other than his servants." Kafei also apologized.

"But who is Goldra anyway?" Link said, picturing something like Ganondorf.

Kafei flipped open a book and skimmed through the pages. Finally, he froze on the spot and pointed his finger at a hieroglyphic of sorts. It showed a man with his hands raised high and lightning was raining down from the skies.

"Goldra was a warlock who wished for eternal life. He eventually found the gods of our world and found a way to save himself. The gods wanted him to use his immortality for good uses.  
"But Goldra didn't want to save people. Instead, his thought of being immortal gave him a lust for power and a thirst for destruction. Within a few centuries, he had gathered enough power to take over Termina.  
"Fortunately, help came. Four strangers came from a distant land and battled Goldra for the freedom of Termina. The battle was long and drawn-out and eventually ended in a tie. Goldra lost his power and the four mysteriously disappeared. No one knows where they are now nor what happened to them. But all we do know is that Goldra has regained his power."

Link was frozen on the spot. This Goldra guy was as bad as Ganondorf, if not worse. If he had known not to kill that beast, he would have focused more on trying to stop Goldra rather than on the beast.

"Stay here, Link. I want to make something right." Kafei said as he went for the door.

Link watched as Kafei left and flopped back down on his bed. He had a good idea of what Kafei was going to do, but didn't know how hard it would be.

Kafei took a walk through town. This sort of thing helped when he was troubled or wanted to clear his mind.

"I know Anju wants me to spend time with my new family. But what if I get cursed again? I can't take the risk of letting someone get hurt because of a mistake..." Kafei thought to himself,  
"But wait...Link has to deal with all kinds of things, but he doesn't worry about it. He's not afraid of danger unless it actually happens. Maybe I should try thinking like that. If it means keeping Anju happy, I'll do it."

Kafei nodded in acknowledgment, he continued his walk well into the evening. However, the minute he walked through the door, there was an earsplitting scream.

"Anju!" Kafei said, racing through the house.

The scream was also enough to make Link stir. At the sudden thought of someone being killed, he sprang out of the bed, but fell on the second step.

A tall, black-robed being was chasing after Anju and her daughter. It was at least seven feet tall, its robes touching the ground. It had skeletal black hands ending in blood-red claws. Its head was not that of a man, but of a hideous bird; either a raven or a vulture. The beak was serrated like a knife, giving it the appearance that it had teeth and it had feral, yellow eyes. In its hands was a wand made of pitch-dark wood. The creature waved its wand and hurtled jets of bright blue light at them. Anju and her daughter turned and the spell hit the wall, blasting a sizeable hole in it. Kafei raced past the door to Link's room just as the hero of time was about to step outside. He almost collided with Link and chased after the source of the noise. Link left the gilded sword in the room he was in just moments ago, but knew that the moon had to be visible in the sky. Fortunately, that wouldn't be long.

The birdlike creature, or Dark Wizzrobe, had Anju and her daughter cornered. The pair had nowhere to run and nowhere to hide, so they prepared themselves for what would happen. Anju held her daughter close, as she shut her eyes as tight as they would go. The Dark Wizzrobe charged a spell just as Kafei burst through the door. Kafei only had a few seconds before the spell was going to be fired and he acted without any form of hesitation. The Dark Wizzrobe cackled as he fired the spell, but dashed forward and got in the way of the spell. The jet of blue light hit him like a cannonball and he was instantly knocked backward into the wall. Anju stood there, stunned that Kafei had just done that. Unfortunately, she stood there for one precious second too long as another spell hit her and threw her back to meet him.

Link burst through the door and tackled the Wizzrobe on instinct. The birdlike sorcerer grunted as he was knocked to the ground, but easily knocked the hero of time off.

"Foolish boy! You think you can beat me?" The wizzrobe asked.

The sorcerer's voice sounded surprisingly eccentric. It was low, but higher than most, as though someone was trying to speak in two different tones at once. The results were, shall we say, odd.

"I will in just a few seconds." Link shot back.

The wizzrobe turned so that his back was facing Link and muttered under his breath.

"Ohh...I told him they were sending the wrong guy." He said, in a somewhat worried tone.

"What is WITH this kook? Is he afraid to fight?" Link said to himself.

He had just realized this when the Dark Wizzrobe turned on him. He drew his wand like a sword and blasted Link with orange light. The result knocked Link on his back.

"Don't taunt me, boy. I have more power than you can possibly imagine!" It said, obviously trying to sound more fearsome.

"Is that a fact? Well can it top this?" Link said as he looked out a nearby window and saw the right half of the moon was a crescent.

Link flashed a smile at the Dark Wizzrobe and suddenly lurched forward as his muscle mass expanded beyond the tiger's and wolf's. He increased in size until he was ten feet tall and weighed more than half a ton. His fingernails elongated until they were five inches long, each hand turned into mighty paw. His jaws elongated until they were more like a dog's, and his fangs grew until they were three inches long. For a final touch, scraggly brown fur spread across his body and his shoulder muscles also increased in size, giving him a hump of sorts. Link wasn't a tiger or a wolf, but a giant grizzly bear.

"HOLY MACARONI!" The kooky wizard said, his beak hanging open.

Link snarled at the wizzrobe and took a swipe him, but with one swish of his cloak and a terrified scream, the kooky sorcerer vanished. The birdlike creature appeared behind Link and shot a spell, but Link still had his mind and anticipated the attack. When the spell was shot, he ducked down on all fours, the spell missing him, and swung at the sorcerer only to hit thin air again. The Wizzrobe reappeared and tried vanishing out of the house for safety, but he couldn't.

"Hey! What's going on?!" It said, trying again and again.

"You had the nerve to question my orders, fool. Now you shall pay with your life!" A voice in his head informed him.

"NO! GOLDRA! SPARE ME!!" He thought like mad, trying to stay away from Link.

Just as the Dark Wizzrobe reappeared again, he had apparently chosen the wrong place to teleport. He had reappeared not behind Link, but to his side. The hero of time grabbed the wizzrobe by the arm, took his wand in his jaws, and broke it in half. The wizzrobe was now helpless and Link had the upper hand. The Wizzrobe, now screaming in terror, scrambled around like a trapped animal trying to get away. Link raised his bear paw, which was easily bigger than a human hand, and brought it smashing down on the wizzrobe's back. A sickening crunch was heard amidst the shriek in pain: an indication that the sorcerer's back was broken. The Wizzrobe's shriek increased in volume and pitch as Link delivered a bone crushing bite to his neck, finishing him off.

Link let out a low growl and lowered himself down on all fours. He went over to two limp bodies and began to sniff them with his large nose. He knew they were alive, but decided to try something. He took his paw and rolled Kafei and Anju onto their backs. Link stepped back in surprise, Kafei and Anju looked no older than ten now. He guessed it was part of the Wizzrobe's spell. He then saw Kafei stir and put his doglike nose close to Kafei's face and began to sniff at him. Kafei got a look of disgust on his face and was instantly woken up.

"Oh, yuck! Who has such bad breath?" Kafei asked.

He looked around and saw a bear looking down at him. For a minute, he didn't know what to say or do, but then he screamed in utmost terror.

"AAAAAAAH! BEAR! BEAR!!" Kafei screamed.

With something that loud, it was enough to make anyone wake up. Anju woke up from the noise and inspected the bear. This grizzly had the bottom of Link's tunic; it was a wonder it was still on.

"Relax, Kafei. It's only Link." Anju said calmly, but then clapped her hands to her mouth.

She sounded a LOT different than her usual voice. Kafei looked at Anju and Anju looked at Kafei. After taking it all in, Kafei tried to hide his face, but Anju stopped him.

"You took the brunt of the spell to save me and my daughter?" Anju said in awe, "You DO care about me."

Kafei blushed, but shook it off. When he did, his face was now more caring and serious than before.

"I'd rather die than see you destroyed. Listen, I've had some time to myself; turns out that's what I needed." He said, "We should have some time to spend with each other, Kid style." Kafei said.

The couple shared a long kiss and they embraced each other. Link watched them and sighed, it sort of reminded him of when he and Zelda were happy together.

"It's romantic isn't it?" Zelda asked.

She had just heard all the ruckus and went to check it out. She saw Bear Link and the happy couple.

"Link? Is that Kafei and Anju?" Zelda asked.

The large bear nodded, reared up, and gave Zelda a bear hug, much to her surprise. After a few seconds, Zelda began to cough a little due to the air being forced from her lungs. Link instantly let go and moaned in a tone as close to "Sorry" as Zelda ever heard.

The minute Kafei and Anju noticed Link and Zelda were in the room, they stopped kissing and blushed. Kafei could have sworn that he could hear Link laugh.

When embarrassment had passed, Kafei went over to Link and said, "Link, before I left, I found something that could help you."

Link couldn't talk, but growled in confusion. It was as good a "what" as he could get.

"It's something called the Moon Jewel that's somewhere near the Ocean. If you use it, you'll be able to control the phases of the moon. We've gotta get it NO MATTER WHAT!" Kafei informed.

This mentioning caught Link's eye. If he got it, he'd be able to control when he'd be normal or which beast he'd become for the situation. And he could also use that time to search for the next mask. They had no time to lose. They had to get to the ocean and fast.

_Good riddance. The Wizzrobe here was fun to write about._

_Whoever thinks all bears are harmless teddies should really get out more._

_Read and Review--Dimensiondude_


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: The guardians' assistance**

Link was bounding across Termina Field with relative ease and was leaving Zelda, Kafei, and Anju in the dust. After a while, he stopped in order to let them catch up.

"Link! In case you haven't noticed, we don't share your stamina or speed." Zelda said between gasps

The whole situation back at the Stock Pot Inn had been taken care of and the Dark Wizzrobe had been taken care of. However, some people were still active at night, so they had to find a way to get Link out of town without drawing attention to him. That wasn't easy, as he had turned into a humanoid grizzly.

While Link let the three catch their breath, he couldn't help but look around. His last time at Termina wasn't a sightseeing time. After all, only three days until a hunk of space rock smashed into the planet was enough to make a gibbering wreck out of anyone...well, except Link.

_I never realized how beautiful this place is. Goldra could have destroyed this natural beauty centuries ago, but why hasn't he done it yet? What could he be up to?_ Link thought to himself as he paced the ground.

_He's up to more than you think he would, Link._ A new voice said in his head.

The voice was low and calm, but dead serious. As Link looked around, he soon spotted a swirl of blue light headed for the Ocean.

_Wait! Who are you?!_ Link called in his mind.

_Mako._ The voice said before the light disappeared in an instant.

Link was about to run off after it when suddenly, several beams of sunlight caught him in the eye. Link went through the painful transformation back into a Hylian, and when it was finished, he dropped to his hands and knees. He looked himself over and saw he was, once again, shirtless.

"DARN IT! How many of these do I have to go through?" Link said, annoyed, as he inspected himself.

Link decided that the matter wasn't too important and looked over to where Zelda, Anju, and Kafei were sitting. He slowly went over to Zelda and gently shook her.

"Zelda...wake up..." Link said in the tone a parent used to wake a sleeping child.

Zelda's eyes fluttered open and she beamed as Link smiled at her. She slowly sat up and wrapped her arms around him.

"You've been a beast for too long, Link. I should appreciate the times when you're human more often." Zelda said, softly, "But where's your shirt?"

Link looked down and shrugged.

"I dunno. Back at the inn in shreds by now, I suppose." He answered with a slight chuckle.

"Don't worry, Link." Zelda said as she pulled out a spare shirt, "Anju knitted several of these. She's got tons of them back at the inn."

"Wow. She's a lifesaver." Link said as he pulled the shirt back over his head, "And don't worry about the hat. I'll have several of them back home."

Zelda went over to Kafei and gently whispered his name. In an instant, he shot upright.

"Where is it?! I'll sic Link on him!" Kafei burst out.

Kafei's little "reaction" was actually more than enough to wake Anju from her sleep. After realizing what he had done, color flushed into Kafei's face.

"Sorry." He mumbled, seeing Anju stifle a giggle.

Link suppressed a laugh, but then said, "The ocean's not far from here. Let's get going."

The ocean was absolutely beautiful. But the group hadn't forgotten that there was stuff to be found: namely the Moon Pearl. But for Link, it meant finding the last mask of someone named Mako. Kafei and Anju had split up to try and find the treasure while Link and Zelda went the other way.

"Alright, buddy, where are you?" Link said, looking under any leaf or stone for it.

Suddenly, in the back of Link's head, a voice spoke.

_I'm over HERE, Hero! How slow can you be?_ It said in a rather ticked off voice.

Link turned to find the source of the voice. Blue light was emanating from the ground nearby and Link ran after it, leaving Zelda in the dust.

"Link! Wait!" She called after him.

Link didn't stop until he was at the patch of ground, some twenty yards away from where he originally stood. He got down on his hands and knees and dug at the sand. He dug until his fingers were sore, but it paid off when he uncovered a silvery-gray mask that looked like the head of a great white shark.

The minute Link touched it, the blue light formed the astral form of its original body. It had a sharklike head and a dorsal fin right in between its shoulder blades. It had a tail similar to its species and wore shoulder armor and a blue armor around his waist. He was rather muscular, but sleek at the same time, giving him the appearance of an olympic swimmer. In one hand was a scimitar which looked surprisingly like a shark fin.

_I would thank you for finding me, but someone's right behind you. So WATCH OUT!_ The shark, or Mako, said before vanishing in a flash.

Link whirled around and saw Zelda with her eyes staring at Link and the mask in his hands. She gave him a very stern look and folded her arms.

"I guess I have a bit of explaining to do, huh?" Link said, hanging his head.

"You'd better. We're supposed to be trying to cure you, not go collecting masks." Zelda said, pointing a finger at him.

"Look, Zelda, there are spirits in this mask: like Charanatos and the Dragon Mask." Link said, as Zelda remembered what happened in the erased timeline, "The spirits of these masks want to get rid of Goldra, too. But they can't do it in these masks."

"How do you know they don't just want Goldra out of the way?" Zelda asked.

_Because,_ the voice of Dracon said in her own head, _We were the four who were trying to stop him!_

Zelda's eyes widened, Link's did too. Both of them had just heard the voice of the guardian of fire himself. Then in a flash of red light, the mighty dragon-man appeared. Right next to him, in a flash of green, was Simeon the monkey. Perched on Dracon's shoulder was Garuda the eagle, and right beside Simeon was Mako the shark. Dracon easily dwarfed his brethren at over twenty-five feet tall. Link and Zelda had to crane their necks just to see him.

_Yes. You heard me. Goldra sealed us in these masks so that we wouldn't try and stop his plans again._ Dracon said, bending down so that he could get a better look at Zelda.

_Yeah. If we were the bad guys, we woulda killed Link long ago._ Simeon said as he clambered up his stick and balanced himself with one foot.

"So, why do you need Link? Couldn't anyone else help you?" Zelda asked.

_Sadly, no._ Garuda said, gliding back to the ground, _If a Terminian tried to touch our masks, their hand would faze right through our prisons. Only a special Hylian can touch us._

_Stupid Goldra,_ Mako said, gritting his knifelike teeth, _It would've made things quicker if ANYONE could touch us! Oh, I'd enjoy eating him!_

"Don't worry, you guys. I'll take care of Goldra for you." Link said, nodding in determination.

_Well, then you better make it quick. If you don't defeat Goldra and remove your curse, he will consume your mind. Not even the mind pendant will help you._ Dracon said, looking at Link with his massive, yellow eye.

"What?!" Zelda said, looking horrified.

_Link has only two full moons. Should the last moon still be up at the stroke of midnight, Goldra will have another servant amongst his collection._ Simeon said, actually looking quite scared.

_But if you get the Moon Pearl, you'll be able to avoid the Full Moons. The other animals don't contain the curse that the wolf retains._ Garuda said, holding up a finger.

"Thanks. I feel so much better." Link said, sarcastically.

One guardian was about to talk again, but a scream pierced the air. That scream was Kafei's.

"Uh oh. Kafei and Anju are in trouble!" Link said, turning his attention away from the guardians, "Hang on, you two. I'll save you!" He added as he ran off with Zelda close behind.

_Sorry I'm late. The computer was acting funny...still is, though. Well, at least I got the chapter up._

_Read and Review--Dimensiondude_


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: Snakes and Pirates**

Link and Zelda had no sooner gone down to the ocean when suddenly, Link saw Kafei caught in a net trap. He was suspended in midair on a trap near a coconut tree. Zelda stifled a laugh at the awkward situation while Link looked up.

"Uh, a little help here would suffice..." Kafei said as he dangled through the air, "I must admit this isn't the worst thing you've seen me in."

"Hold on, Kafei. I'll get you down." Link said as he began climbing the tree.

Link had barely gone a few moves up the tree when he heard Zelda scream. Link looked down to see Gerudo pirates surrounding her with spears. Link then felt something sharp jab him in the thigh and actually rolled to the other side and fell on the sandy floor.

"What's going on here? We're not intruding!" Link said as he got to his feet.

If the gerudos were listening to him, they obviously didn't care. One simply pointed her spear at Link's throat.

"Hey! Point that thing somewhere else!" Link said, shoving the spear away.

Link then found out that he had gone too far. The gerudo thrust her spear at Link, who sidestepped it and wrenched it from her grip. The woman shrieked some curse I won't mention and tried to get her weapon back, but Link simply took the spear and tripped her with it. The other gerudos responded almost instantly with the fall of their sister and charged while one stayed behind to keep an eye on Kafei, Anju, and Zelda.

"I didn't want to do this, but you give me no choice. You want to take my friends? You'll have to come through me first." Link challenged.

In a split second, Link leapt backward as a spear hit the ground right where his foot was a second ago. He spun on his heel and smacked a gerudo across the side with his new weapon. He also planted the tip of the spear in the ground, bent it back a bit, then released it. The spear ended up whacking a Gerudo in the face like she stepped on a hoe. One charged with its spear brandished, but Link took his own spear and slid under her legs before kicking her in the back. Another Gerudo raised its spear to whack Link with, but the hylian was too experienced a fighter and blocked it with his own spear's shaft. He then jumped as another Gerudo thrust a spear at him and landed behind her on his hands. He then seized her with his legs and threw her away, regaining his own balance in the process. He bent back the spear and used its swing momentum to launch himself at an attacking Gerudo and kick her in the stomach. He repeated the process, only this time, he went the other way and brought a fist into his opponent's chest.

All the gerudos were down, but Link heard footsteps in the sand and wheeled around with his spear. However, in a lightning fast movement, Link was holding half a spear in each hand. It was a gerudo with a pair of swords in each hand. Normally, Link would have fought, but the moon hadn't risen and given the choice, he couldn't wait it out. He put his hands in the air as the gerudo crossed her sabers like scissors across his throat.

"In the name of Aveil, the pirate queen, you are under arrest." She said, coldly.

"What do you want with me?" Link said, remaining calm, but dead-serious.

"That's not exactly my business, kid. All I know is that Aveil has issues with you for kicking her all over the place a few years ago. Get him out of here." She said in a crafty voice at first, then changed to a barking order.

Link hardly knew it was coming. In a split second, there was a glancing blow on his head and then the world went black.

Link's eyes fluttered open to find that it was evening. It was very dark, as a cloud was covering the moon.

"Man, for a bunch of pirates, those ladies can pack a punch." Link said as he let his eyes adjust to the dark.

When he could see clearly, Link found out he was in a dungeon no bigger than a bedroom. He silently got up and saw that the door and window was barred. So much for escape. He heard a groan and Link turned to see Kafei on the other side of the cell.

Link went over to the purple-haired person and asked, "Are you alright?"

Kafei lifted his head; he had obviously been hit on the head. He clutched the spot as he slowly stood back up.

"Yeah. Unless you count a headache as okay." He moaned.

"Wait a minute..." Link said, surveying his surroundings, "Where are Zelda and Anju?"

"I don't know. For all I know they could be in the cell next door. But if they are, then they must be quiet." Kafei said as the pain slowly drained from his head."

"WHAT?!" Link said in anger.

Kafei put a finger to his lips.

"SHH! They'll hear us." Kafei whispered, "We may be in a cell, but those gerudos are real night owls."

"Oh, sorry." Link apologized, "But how in the name of the gods will we get out of here?"

Link kicked the cell wall, which only resulted in a throbbing foot. As Link clutched it, holding in a yell of pain, he then noticed that the brick had definitely moved. It wasn't much, but it had moved.

"Hey, Kafei!" Link hissed, "Come over here and give me a hand."

Kafei went over to Link in time to see him pop out a brick and gently place it behind him. Kafei then got an idea.

"Looks like the pirates forgot to turn out our pockets. Look what I've got." Kafei said as he pulled something out of a pouch on his belt. It was a chisel and before Link knew it, he and Kafei were slowly picking away at the bricks' cement. Soon there was a big enough hole for them to crawl through. Link went first and combat-crawled through the hole. The smell of the sea soon told him they were outside again.

"Finally, fresh ai-WHAT THE?!" Link said as he saw where they ended up.

The nearest surface for them to land on was a ten-foot drop. There was a bump on his foot and Link heard a familiar voice scold him.

"Hey, Link! Come on!" Kafei said, he had obviously bumped his head.

"Okay...this is going to be close." Link said as he wormed his way out of the hole.

He fell for a few seconds, but rolled on contact with the ground to absorb the blow. Kafei had heard it and almost backed away.

"Are you sure about this, Link? I don't like a headfirst drop." Kafei said, nervously.

"Just drop free. I'll catch you." Link assured him.

Kafei slowly wiggled out of the hole and then fell. Link caught his friend and gently placed him onto the ground. However, Kafei was still a little shocked from the fall.

"You okay?" Link asked.

"I'm fine. I just think I'll sit down and shiver for a while." Kafei said, aiming to sit down, but Link caught him around the arm and stopped him.

Link immediately took off to look for Zelda and Anju while still holding onto Kafei's arm. Kafei skidded as he was being pulled forward.

"The things he'll do for love." Kafei said as he tried to regain his balance.

"What was that?" Link asked.

"Nothing."

Link and Kafei snuck through the fortress with ninja-like stealth. Well, Link did. Kafei was simply following his lead; Link had obviously done this before. The inside of the fortress was a real maze, but if Link navigated the Lost Woods, he could navigate this place. Link was about to turn a corner when he stopped and grabbed Kafei by the shirt before pulling him back.

"What are you doing?" Kafei hissed, "Zelda and Anju are in there somewhere!"

Link shushed Kafei and pointed in the room ahead. It had several Gerudos in there, most of which were sharpening their weapons. There was a door, but it was on the other side of the room. There was no way they could get through it undetected.

"We can't let them see both of us." Link said, remaining at the corner he almost crossed.

Kafei thought for a while. Then, he got an idea and began to move forward. Link seized him by the arm and pulled him back again.

"Kafei, what on earth do you think you're doing?" He hissed.

"It's part of a plan. I'll lead them away while you go find Zelda and Anju." Kafei informed.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Link asked cautiously.

"Positive."

"Okay...Good luck."

"You too, Link."

The gerudos were chatting nonstop about the capture of Link and treasure. So they were least expecting Kafei to leap from around the corner and shout something.

"Hey, ladies! I heard your mother was a fisherman while your father was a marlin!" Kafei teased.

The gerudos turned, completely surprised at this and raised their sabers in surprise.

"Hey! It's that purple-headed kid! Get him!" A gerudo in green commanded.

Kafei sped out of the room, maneuvering away from swinging cutlasses and out of the room, into the fortress outside.

When the room was clear of guards, Link made his way to the door on the other side of the room.

"OH, COME ON!" Link cursed under his breath.

The door had led right back outside to a different part of the fortress. He looked around and saw nothing but Gerudos, Gerudos, and Kafei, who was being chased by Gerudos. Link infiltrated the fortress with stealth to match an assailant, but suddenly dropped to one knee with a sick feeling in his stomach. The moon was close, but the sickness didn't stop him from doing what he had to do. He got back on his feet and continued on his path, avoiding any guards that weren't trying to catch Kafei.

After sneaking here and hiding there, Link soon came across a door he had never seen before.

"Was that always there?" Link said as he crept into it.

The door led to a room with a giant skull and crossbones symbol. But instead of bones, they were cutlasses and the skull looked surprisingly reptilian. Underneath the skull and crossbones symbol was a prison of sorts, which held...

"Anju?" Link asked.

The little girl which was once Kafei's wife looked up, surprised, but quickly smiled as she saw Link. However, that smile quickly faded as she saw something Link didn't.

"Link! WATCH OUT!" She screamed.

Link spun around and there was a Gerudo at the door. Normally, Link would have whipped out his sword and shield at almost blinding speed, but upon investigation, he didn't have them.

"Man! I feel naked without my sword." Link muttered as he saw his opponent.

The gerudo was wearing a mask that fit its face tightly, so Link couldn't identify its facial features. She was dressed in purple garbs that covered her whole body, which was odd for a Gerudo, and had a pair of cutlasses strapped to her back. Like all Gerudos, her hair was red, but if Link looked at it in the right light, he noticed that it didn't seem...natural.

Link then noticed that there was a window in the room and would look out it when things were getting dicey.

"Now what are you doing sneaking around our fortress?" The gerudo asked, fingering her cutlasses.

"To take this girl home. She has nothing to do with you." Link said, remaining calm, but dead serious.

"Wrong. When she's older, this girl will be working for us. And I can't let you take away a recruit, can I?" She said, actually taking her scimitars out and pointing them at Link like accusing fingers.

"You can try and stop me. At least...NOW." Link said, his pupils turning into slits.

Link looked out the window and saw that the left half of the moon was a crescent. He whipped off his shirt and began a new transformation.

Rather than hair, Link began to grow tough, scaly skin the color of acid. A long, muscular tail sprouted from his body and coiled on the floor like an actual serpent. His neck also lengthened slightly and his face stretched into a more reptilian look as razor-sharp fangs grew where his canines used to be. The fangs were lemon yellow and dripped with a yellow liquid, which was obviously venom. His fingertips also sprouted long, black nails as his new mouth flickered out a forked tongue with a sharp HISSSSS. Link was now a humanoid snake with a constrictor's tail and a cobra's fangs. NOW he was ready for a fight.

_Looks like the odds have evened up a bit._ Link said, but he only emitted a few hisses.

The Gerudo roared a battle cry as Link charged as well with a bloodcurdling hiss. She got her blades ready and so did the other one. The Gerudo charged at Link and lunged with her scimitar, but Link proved too flexible and simply curved his whole body away from the swing. This obviously ticked the Gerudo off, because she swung again and again with almost lightning speed. Link swerved away from the second strike, but the third caught him across the chest and left a large gash. It didn't really matter, because the wound simply healed over in seconds. The Gerudo charged again and spun in midair, becoming a living saw-blade in the process. Link simply got down on all fours and slid away from the blade tornado with the speed of flowing water. The gerudo turned and threw her cutlass at Link, who simply ducked under it. He swept the ground with his tail only to see his opponent jump over it and swing at him again. She missed as Link leaned backward so far, he almost touched the ground with his head.

_Is this really the best she can do? Why'd the pirates hire her if she's not the best fighter?_ Link thought as he straightened back up.

The Gerudo had just charged again, but Link dodged again by jumping clean over her. The Gerudo roared in anger and threw her cutlass at the snake-man, who caught it in midair. Link took a look at the scimitar and pointed it at the Gerudo. It wasn't the type of sword he was used to, but it would work. He'd fought with all kinds of weapons and this wasn't the weirdest of them.

The Gerudo charged with her remaining scimitar, but Link parried the attack. He then drew his sword back and struck the gem on the mask's forehead. The gem cracked and she began acting a little weird. Then for the first time, she spoke in a different voice.

"Huh? Where am I? How did I get here?" She asked.

The Gerudo looked around and screamed when she saw a massive snakelike creature wrap its tail around her. The snake hissed in rage and its tail was slowly constricting her. She instantly recognized the tunic, but couldn't speak as the words were squeezed from her lungs.

"Link! Stop! That's Zelda!" A girl's voice shouted.

Link paused and turned to Anju, who was gripping the bars of her cell. Link stared unblinkingly at Zelda, seeing as Snakes didn't have eyelids. He, very carefully, moved the woman closer to him and took off the mask. It was Zelda under the scarf!

Link immediately released Zelda, dropping her to the ground. She gasped for breath and Link began apologizing in hisses. Unfortunately, the princess had no idea what he was saying.

"So that's your new form? Ugh, why did it have to be a snake?" Zelda said.

Zelda had never liked snakes. In her childhood, she would often sneak out of the castle and some of the boys in the market would chase her with either fake or real snakes. It had happened since she was eight years old and had left her traumatized since.

Zelda had barely gotten back to her feet when another Gerudo pirate appeared in the room. Link unleashed a hiss that made Zelda's skin crawl. THIS was the pirates' boss: Aveil. She had a few issues with Link, seeing as he managed to chase several pirates out of her room with a swarm of angry bees.

"You may have gotten the best of our newest warrior, but that's going to change now." She said, her arms folded across her chest.

Link was about to attack when he noticed that this woman had a large, white gem on a necklace. It was giving off a small, but immediately noticeable glow. Perhaps THIS was that pendant Kafei mentioned in the Stock Pot Inn. Acting on instinct, Link made to grab at the necklace, but Aveil simply moved away.

"What are you doing?" She asked in a demanding tone.

She then noticed that Link's bright yellow eyes were focused on the white gem around her neck. She fingered it, then smiled as she drew a large scimitar.

"Oh, so you want this? Come and take it then" The pirate taunted.

Link hissed in anger and turned quickly to meet the pirate. The female simply jumped away with speed to match a Sheikah and attached another mask to Zelda's forehead. This mask had the same jewel as the last one and Zelda screamed as she was brainwashed again. When she stopped, Zelda picked up the two scimitars and began wielding them with much better skill than before. She became a living saw blade again, but this one was MUCH faster and Link only barely slithered away. When Link regained his balance, he struck at the mask with his fangs only to miss by a mile. Zelda simply backflipped away from the strike and seized a nearby chain. Link swung his tail at her only to miss again and Zelda lassoed Link with the chain she nabbed. Link struggled to get free, but couldn't wriggle out. She tied Link up good, he'd give her that.

_OH! If I was a REAL snake, I could have gotten out of here by now._ Link thought to himself.

Suddenly, he felt a strange sensation flow through his body. He felt as though his limbs fell asleep, then turned to see them vanish into his body, as did the bottom part of his tunic. His whole body became no more than a head, a spine, and a LONG ribcage. He had turned into a real snake and slithered through the ropes with relative ease.

Link turned and saw the look on Aveil's face: one of complete surprise. After snickering to himself, he resumed his humanoid form and made to tackle Zelda again. She jumped, but she walked RIGHT into Link's trap. He turned on a dime and wrapped his thick tail around Zelda's midsection and her arms. Now she couldn't use her scimitar due to limited movement.

"Glad that's taken care of. But what about Aveil? If only I could remove that necklace..." Link thought to himself.

Link suddenly acted on a whim, turned to Aveil, and opened his mouth. A burst of a strange, yellow liquid shot out of his fangs at the Gerudo pirate's necklace. At first, she screamed, but the venom was harmless to her. However, the same couldn't be said for the necklace's chain, which melted like taffy. The large jewel fell to the floor and Aveil scrambled around trying to get it. Link simply kicked it over to Anju's prison. The redheaded girl caught it as it slid between the bars and the most amazing thing happened. Upon touching the gem, she began to glow like the moon outside. When the light cleared, she was an adult again. It was a good thing for her, because walking around in clothes that were several sizes too big wasn't good for her.

Link shot venom at Zelda's mask, which melted, and set her back down. Aveil narrowed her eyes at the serpentine hero and whipped out her scimitar.

"I'LL KILL YOU!" She screeched as she charged.

Link wasn't worried. He struck with his fangs, which caused her to stop, but then wrapped the rest of his tail around the pirate. It was at this time that the Gerudo realized that she'd been suckered. With a heave from his large tail muscles, he threw the pirate at the wall, knocking her out.

Link stood there with his arms crossed and hissed in disgust at the pirate. He then turned around to Anju's cell and spat the venom at the bars. The bars melted away and Anju walked out, her dress and sleeves unrolled to fit her instead of a child. Then, a cloud happened to move in front of the moon and Link underwent the painful transformation again. Thankfully, all those times transforming had made him used to it and he had toughened up a bit.

Zelda came to and saw Link in front of her.

"Link? What am I doing here and why am I wearing this?" She asked.

"Ah, let's not worry. Let's just get out of here." Link explained.

He had no sooner said that, when Kafei returned, unharmed. However, he did look like he had run a mile.

"Where are the guards?" Link asked.

"Taken care of." Kafei said with a mischievous smile.

Somewhere in the fortress, a few Gerudos were out cold with a few wooden crates on top of them. One got up, but another box fell on top of her and knocked her back out.

Back at the place Link battled Aveil, Kafei noticed that Anju was back to normal.

"Hey, how'd you grow up so fast?" Kafei said, his eyes wide.

"I think it had something to do with this jewel." Anju said, handing it to Link. "But we can do research later. Right now, we have to get out of here." She added as she got up,.

"THAT'S IT!" Kafei exclaimed, looking as though he had just found the Triforce in Hyrule.

"What?" Zelda asked.

"That's the Moon Pearl. If Link uses it, he'll be able to control the moon's phases." Kafei reminded.

Zelda smiled at the thought of Link not having to turn into a beast every night. NOW, they could avoid the full moon like Dracon had advised.

When Kafei finished, Link was standing in the doorway.

"Can we get going now?" Link asked.

"Oh! Sorry." Kafei said as he scrambled after Link.

Kafei got Anju and they all snuck out of the fortress, following Link's guidance of course. The exit was underwater, so Link had to handle it. The cloud that blocked the moon moved away and Link underwent the painful transformation back into a snake.

_Still not used to that._ Link hissed through the snake's mouth. He was glad no one could understand him.

Link dove under the water and, with some help from his muscular tail, pried the wood away. It was a good thing snakes were good swimmers. Zelda, Kafei, and Anju held onto Link's tail as he led them through the water.

They soon reached the shore and Link hissed in a tone similar to "Finally! We're out!"

Kafei tapped Link on the shoulder and the snake turned around. Kafei was holding out the Moon Pearl, fully grown again and back into his adult clothes. Link grabbed the jewel and paused for a while.

"Do you know how to work that?" Kafei asked, tilting his head.

Link shook his serpentine head.

"Aim it at the moon and concentrate on its phase." Kafei explained.

Link nodded and would have closed his eyes, but couldn't. He saw a small, silver beam fire from the jewel and touch the moon. Slowly, as though a lunar eclipse was happening in slow motion, the moon's left crescent vanished and Link changed back into a Hylian. He was VERY tired after transforming twice, but he was okay. Zelda was overcome with joy and embraced him in a hug that nearly crushed his ribs. When Zelda let go, Link quickly caught his breath. He was finally in control of everything.

In a dark fortress in a storm, Goldra pounded his fist on the arm of his throne.

"So, Link has found the Moon Pearl. Who'd have thought it?" Goldra growled.

"B-but, your majesty," A reptilian servant stammered, "What if someone else is behind this? We have to find out."

"Fine. Send in my camouflage agents to search Clock Town." Goldra said, dismissively.

"But sir," the reptile stammered, more furiously this time, "If he were to come back sooner, we could have no-"

The last thing the lizard saw was a pair of massive fangs coming straight at his head. A monster of sorts had ripped off the reptile's head. A few more servants nearby had seen the whole thing and the monster turned back into Goldra with blood staining his lips.

"Anyone else care to share your brother's fate?" He threatened. After a bit of inaudible murmuring, the servants sped off as fast as they could. Goldra grinned. "I thought not."

_ALRIGHT! Now, Link's in full control of the curse AND he can use it so that he won't fall completely under the curse. But how long will it last? Stay tuned..._

_Read 'n Review--D-Dude_


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: Killer Croc**

Link, Zelda, Anju, and Kafei had gone back to Clock Town at the Stock Pot Inn. Fortunately, Kafei was less research on magic and he was now spending more time with Anju and his daughter. It did Link's heart good to see a man be the husband he should be.

"Uhh...Link?" Zelda asked.

"Yes?"

"What happened to my gown?" She asked, referring to the purple tights she now had on.

"Uh-oh...I think that those pirates took it. Well, it's too late to go back now; one encounter with those pirates is enough." Link answered nervously, "But don't worry. I'm sure Anju will have one for you. I'm positive. How else could she have made me so many tunics?" Link added, seeing the frustrated look on Zelda's face.

Zelda's face brightened up and she immediately went to Anju's room for a new wardrobe.

_Finally, I can't be affected by that curse of Goldra's._ Link thought to himself.

_And you'll need it, Link. The battle for the fate of Termina draws near..._ A vibrating voice said.

Link had gone through this enough times to recognize the voices of all four guardians. This voice was Dracon's.

_Battle?_ Link asked, _You mean there's more than just defeating Goldra?_

_Yes. Goldra may be powerful, but he's not stupid. He has the mind similar of a general, so he's most likely got something planned in case he can't do it alone._

_So, that means...he wanted me to come to Termina. And he wanted me to kill the beast so that he could control me and I wouldn't get in the way of his plans. What he didn't count on was the Mind Pendant coming into Kafei's possession..._

There was the echo of clapping hands and Simeon's voice said, _Well done, hero. Well done._

"So, what do you think?"

The suddenness of Zelda's voice made Link jump. He was so deep in thought with Dracon and Simeon that he had forgotten to mind his surroundings.

Zelda was now wearing a deep green dress with a few brown markings swirled into it. It looked surprisingly plant-like and organic. She had left her tiara completely and actually looked like a normal person.

"I said, 'what do you think'?" She repeated.

"Oh, sorry, Zelda. You look...well, beautiful." Link covered, scratching his head.

Zelda smiled, then took a seat on Link's bed and he quickly joined her. "Well, we don't have any clues on what to do next. What do you suggest we do?" Zelda asked, leaning closer to him.

Link thought hard on this. There were many things he wanted to see in Termina, but if he had to choose one, he had to choose...

"Why not go to Great Bay again? We won't be able to get your gown back, but we could spend time at the beach. What do you think?"

Zelda only smiled and nodded. The pair then walked out of Clock Town, hand-in-hand.

Great Bay was still very beautiful, now that the pirates had been taken care of. Its waters now sparkled like a million rupees and the sun shone a bright orange in the sky, appearing to be slowly dunked into the sea.

"Link?" Zelda said, "Why do you think Dracon has only reached out to you and not Kafei? I'm sure he would do him a lot more good with his intellect."

Link gave Zelda an accusing glare, then said, "I'm going to ignore the part about intellect. As for why Dracon contacted me, I think it was because I had saved several others before. Maybe they heard of how I saved the Giants here before." Link paused, then looked out at the ocean as he continued. "They knew I defeated Majora twice and probably want me to defeat Goldra..."

"What if this all fails?"

Link turned to see Zelda, staring at the ground. Her eyes were surprisingly dull and she looked like everyone forgot her birthday.

"What was that?" Link asked, one eyebrow cocked.

"What if the curse envelops you forever? And what if I can never see you again?" Zelda said, her voice soft, as though she were sick.

"Now why would you think that?" Link asked, putting a hand on Zelda's shoulder, "I have never let you down before and I never intend to. Sure there was the Charanatos incident, but I made a mistake. And like I promised, it won't happen again."

Zelda looked up, her eyes sparkling with tears.

"Promise?"

Link nodded as he said, "Promise." He stood up and held out his hand. "Now, how 'bout we go back to town? It's getting dark out."

Zelda took Link's hand and felt his strength pull her up. They then walked back to Termina Field, hand-in-hand.

Link and Zelda were about halfway to Clock Town when Link heard a SPLASH. He turned and saw a mysterious figure swimming through a river up ahead.

"Zelda, go on ahead. There's something here I have to take care of." Link said, trying not to make Zelda worry.

"Alright. I'll meet you at the Stock Pot Inn." Zelda said to him. During this journey, she had learned that, if Link had something to do, she'd best let him do it.

Link nodded and the two went their separate ways.

Link didn't even have to use the moon jewel this time. The right half of the moon was missing and Link instantly jumped into the water instinctively. It looked like instinct was the right thing to do this time. Link's skin turned a deep shade of bluish-green mixed with black and he grew a foot in height, not to mention scales. The scales on his back were harder than the others and formed something like chainmail. His jaws lengthened until they were long and slender and his teeth almost tripled in number and became like triangular pegs for digging into prey. His jaw muscles increased until they were ten times stronger than his original, and he grew a long, paddle-like tail. Link opened his yellowish-green eyes and looked at his new body. He was a large, humanoid crocodile with black, claw-like nails.

Link was easily moving as fast as he did when he wore the Zora Mask. His massive tail was paddling him at speeds he had never imagined and there was also the fact that he no longer had to kick or paddle with his arms; he just let the tail do all the work. Link also noticed he didn't have to surface as often as he did before, because he didn't use much oxygen in this new method and could use what oxygen he had taken before he took the plunge.

Then suddenly, he spotted the figure. It was swimming swiftly, but not as quick as he was. Several yards separated Link and the creature, but with a great swish of his tail, he caught up to it with relative ease. Link opened his new jaws and clamped his peglike teeth into the creature's leg with the force of a truck parking on its leg. The creature opened its mouth as a stream of bubbles, otherwise a scream of pain, issued from its mouth. The critter whirled around to see what hit (or bit) him and revealed its true self. It had a fishlike head and teeth like a piranha, but other than that, it looked somewhat human. It also had webbed feet and hands and a fin down its spine.

The creatures saw Link holding onto its leg and whipped out a dagger. It bent over Link's head and attempted to stab him in the back. However, the knife bounced off the armor and, upon further inspection, the knife was broken in two due to the armor on Link's back. The creature dropped the knife's useless handle and sank its sharp little teeth into the crocodilian's nose. It didn't hurt much, but it was enough to tip Link over the edge. Link still held onto the fishlike creature with his jaws, but simply bit down harder. The creature then batted Link near the eyes and that stung him a bit. It was apparent that this creature had better things to do than get mauled by a crocodile.

Link then had the urge to do something that he had never done before. Crocodile instinct took over and he held onto the creature's leg as he began to spin very quickly. He was spinning at two or three rotations per second with bone-wrenching force. The creature was getting spun around like a corkscrew and would have screamed its lungs out when its right leg came off in Link's mouth. (This action is common in all crocodiles. People call it the 'deathroll.') Link crossed his eyes to see the leg in his mouth, but quickly spat it out. The fish-like creature tried to swim to the surface, but Link proved quicker and caught him in one of his muscular arms and heaved him out of the water. Link surfaced to see the creature trying to get back up, but stumbled when Link swept the ground with his massive tail. He then seized it around the neck and lifted it clean off the ground.

"Let me go, you overgrown gila monster!" The creature spat.

Link opened his new pair of bone-crushing jaws and a bone-chilling bellow vibrated through both him and the creature, scaring it witless.

_Who are you?_ Link asked sternly.

"You could poke knives into my eyes and I still won't tell you." The creature said, looking ready to spit in Link's face...it did.

Link narrowed his catlike eyes as he swabbed his face with his scaly hand and said, _I'm still in the mood for seafood. Care to talk NOW?_ Link asked, starting to get slightly irritated.

"Alright! I am the aquatic servant of the great Goldra." The fishlike thing said, but then a familiar black mist began to flow into the area.

_Oh no... _Link said to himself, the same thought running through the creature's head.

Within seconds, Goldra was back, just as Link remembered him. Link dropped the fish-creature, painfully, onto the ground and hissed at the warlock. The dark one glanced at Link, then glared at the fish and raised a hand.

"You pathetic piece of shark bait. You'll never keep that mouth shut, so BEGONE!" Goldra shouted.

He clenched his hand into a fist and a dark bolt of lightning came out of his hand. A scream echoed through the air as Link shielded his eyes from the light. When the light cleared, the one-legged fish creature was on the ground-lifeless.

_Why'd you do that to him?!_ Link growled as he advanced on Goldra.

Goldra turned on Link and asked him, "Did you not intend to do the same thing?"

Link had finally had enough of Goldra killing his own servant and charged. He opened his powerful jaws and clamped them down hard on Goldra's thigh. Goldra grunted in surprise, but it quickly turned into a slight chuckle as he held up his hand and produced an arrow of yellow energy in his palm. The arrow flew at Link and hit him smack dab in between the eyes. Link released Goldra and shook his head in pain, trying to shake the pain off as though it was a parasite. His eyes then widened as he saw the flesh where his teeth had injured Goldra started to heal over: blood coagulated into a scab, then turned into perfectly healed skin.

"Brave of you, boy. No wonder they made YOU the hero of time. But there's no time to play, now. Farewell." Goldra said calmly.

A flash of lightning struck him and the dark wizard vanished. Link stared at the spot with a look of anger on his face. He was going to track down Goldra, battle him, and kill him in any way he could.

_I saw the new Hulk movie yesterday. It was AWESOME!_

_Read and Review--D-dude_


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: Behind the scenes**

Zelda had gone back to the Stock Pot Inn and began calling out Kafei's name. BEGAN was the only thing she did, because when she cupped her hands over her mouth to amplify her voice, something hit her hard on the head.

"Nighty-night, princess. Now...let's see if Goldra's theories are true, shall we?" The voice was female and very cold, similar to a seductress.

She placed her hands on the sides of Zelda's face and gazed at her. Within minutes, she stood up as an exact replica. She locked her in a closet to make sure she couldn't get out and no one else could get in.

"Zelda, you're back."

The woman froze in her tracks for a while. It wasn't Link, but Kafei. She turned around and made sure to keep her face similar to Zelda's.

"Where have you and Link been? And where is Link, anyway?" Kafei asked.

"Oh, you know. We were just out and about. He went off to solve some 'personal' business." The fake Zelda said, casually.

"Well, that's fine by me." Kafei said as he walked back to his room, "Lovebirds, they'll do anything together." He said to himself as he turned a corner.

"Now that I have him off my shoulders," The false princess thought as she stalked away.

She went to Link and Zelda's room and began turning the whole place upside-down. She was looking for something and didn't show any signs of stopping.

"They have to be around here somewhere..." She said to herself.

Kafei settled down on his chair and took out the only book on Termina's legends he hadn't read: "The Rise and Fall of the Dark Beings". This single book had every event from the war that spawned the Fierce Deity Mask to a more recent chapter about the dreaded Majora's Mask.

"I've searched through everything else. Let's see what can be found here..." Kafei said to himself as he flipped through the pages.

Kafei's eyes widened as he came upon a certain picture in the book. It showed a werewolf similar to Link's full moon beast form poised to attack a different creature. It looked like a cross between a human and a dragon of sorts. In the background on the werewolf's side was the full moon and on the dragon-man's side was a dark castle.

Under this illustration was an insignia. It read:  
"Even a man who is pure of heart and says his prayers by night may become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms and the autumn moon is bright.  
"The darkest of beings corrupted his soul for eternal life. To end the battle, you must use his own weapon of demise and stop the accursed strife."

"It's a riddle." Kafei thought, "But if it's his weapon we have to use, then we've been trying to kill him the wrong way."

If you had walked right into the room, you would have thought her desperate. This same thought went through Anju's mind as she saw what appeared to be Zelda digging through the room for some unknown object.

"Zelda? What are you looking for?" Anju asked.

"Oh, uh..." The fake Zelda paused. "I lost my lucky bracelet in this room."

"Can I help you find it?" Anju asked as she stepped forward.

"NO!" Zelda said, enough to make Anju jump. "I mean...no. I can handle this myself."

"O...K. If you say so." Anju said as she walked out of the room.

The fake Zelda then lifted up a mattress and her worst fears had been realized. There, under the mattress, were four masks: a monkey, an eagle, a shark, and a dragon. She tried to touch one, but her hand fazed through it like it was air.

"Looks like Goldra was right."

_Sorry for the short chapter. I was slightly rushed._

_R&R--D-dude_


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: The Key of Victory...**

Link was walking through Termina Field. He had just gotten a few nasty surprises; the first was that Goldra killed his own minion while the second was the fact that he healed up even after being bitten by a crocodile.

"Hmm...what does Dracon know about Goldra other than the fact that he sealed him away?" He said to himself.

_Quite a bit, actually._ Dracon responded.

Link jumped.

_Oh, sorry. If you direct your thoughts to me, I can hear you perfectly._ Dracon apologized, _Anyway, I learned some time ago that I couldn't kill him. So, I banished him to a dark realm from where he could never return to Termina._

_But apparently,_ Garuda said, joining in, _We underestimated his power. His use of dark magic slowly, but surely, exceeded our own._

Mako joined in and said, _But we learned from the Giants that we have to kill him using his own weapon against him._

_Whatever that means._ Simeon butted in.

"What does that mean?" Link asked.

Link couldn't see it, but he was sure Dracon was hanging his head.

_I'm sorry, Link. But even I don't know._ The dragon said in a sorry tone.

Link sighed, but managed to say, "Don't worry. We'll find out somehow. I am the Hero of Time after all..."

Link bid his newfound friend goodbye and he was quite surprised to see that he was back to the Stock Pot Inn. The walk and talk seemed to make time move faster. He opened the door and saw that Zelda had just reached for the doorknob just as he opened it. Her face looked very nervous and her eyes darted around.

"Something wrong, Zelda?" Link asked.

Zelda remained silent as she started to back away. Link moved forward with a questioning look in his eye. He looked to the side, where his room and Zelda's was, and the question in his eyes increased.

"Has something happened here?" He asked.

"Sorry, Link. It's just I've not been myself lately. In fact…" She began, but her voice suddenly changed into a cold voice, "I mean that quite literally."

"Zelda" suddenly swirled with a black mist of sorts. When it cleared, "Zelda" was gone and a woman with white skin, black hair, bluish-black robes, and dark purple eyes stood where she stood. Link took a step back in surprise, but a familiar fire lit inside him; the same fire that burned whenever someone put Zelda in danger.

"Who are you?" Link asked, "And where's the REAL Zelda?"

"My name is Vala and as for your girlfriend..." The woman said, effectively taunting Link, "She's been...taken care of."

"WHERE IS SHE?!" Link growled.

"That isn't your biggest concern. Now, I'm afraid Goldra asked me to dispose of you." She said, unsheathing a long, curved sword similar to a certain warrior lady's in an erased timeline.

Link didn't expect this. It was nowhere near nightfall and he had no weapon; as he didn't need his sword all the time, as his beast forms took care of that.

"LINK! CATCH!"

Link whirled around and saw Kafei toss him his Gilded Sword. Link reached out and seized the hilt before turning to face Vala.

"How about a fair fight now?" Link asked as he pointed his sword at Vala.

_If this is another short chapter, just tell me. Sheesh, I can't keep track of my own chapters, just the whole book._

_D-Dude._


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12: Goldra's Wrath**

Link and Vala circled each other, searching for any opening that could prove a weak point. If Link had no weapon, he would have been a sitting duck. He was more than fortunate enough that Kafei had got his Gilded Sword to him in time.

Then, Vala couldn't wait anymore. She sprang like a cat and threw all her weight into her strike. Link evaded it with ease and swung his sword at her back. It narrowly missed and just as the woman swung again, Link parried, maneuvered her sword away, and backhanded her. The blow sent her tumbling and Link advanced only to see her duck under his blade.

"Is this really the best she can do?" Link thought to himself, "If she didn't dodge so well, I would have beaten her by now."

The pace of Link's attacks increased so that by the time he was in full fighting strength, his sword was a golden blur. Oddly enough, Vala didn't even get harmed. She dodged the swings as though they were in slow motion. On the last swing, her mouth curved into a seductive smile.

"Now, I've got you." She said to herself.

Link charged and swung his sword, but amazingly, Vala sidestepped it and thrust forward. Link spun on his heel to dodge it, but he felt the blade graze his side. He looked down at his side and saw a small gash on his side. He swung his sword again and Vala ducked again. This time, she rolled on the ground and stood behind Link. She then put him in a restraining hold, using one hand to hold Link's hand while the other wrapped around his jaw. Link, acting completely on instinct, wriggled free of the deathgrip on his jaw. He then clamped his teeth down to get her away.

Vala shrieked in pain as she got away from Link. Link would have charged, but then realized something. The bite had actually penetrated Vala's hand and it looked like a disease had spread through the back of her hand. It looked like it hurt judging from the way she was screeching uncontrollably. Eventually, she fell to the floor, writhing like a worm until she stopped and evaporated into a dark mist.

"What just happened?" Kafei asked.

Link only stared where Vala used to be.

"I don't know. I just bit her and she just...died." He answered, easily as confused as Kafei.

Link suddenly heard a banging on the door and went to the door. He tried to open it, but it wouldn't budge an inch. Link then took his sword and slid it through the crack in the door. The door swung open and Zelda fell on the floor. She looked up at Link and embraced him, speechless. That is, until Link perked up a bit.

"Zelda! Kafei! I have a clue on how to defeat Goldra!"

"Really?" Kafei asked.

"Someone told me that the only way to kill him is to use his own weapon against him." Link answered, emphasizing "someone".

Zelda and Kafei thought hard on this.

"Should we make one of his soldiers kill him?" Zelda asked.

"No. They wouldn't turn on the Dark Lord. It would be the last thing they ever did."

Another thought had just rushed through when there was an explosion to match a lightning strike. It also made a tremor strong enough to shake the whole inn and shake a few things loose.

"What was that?!" Zelda asked, moreso in fear than actual question.

"Goldra. That's what." Link answered, his eyes narrowed at the name.

The whole group hurried outside and saw another monster. It looked extremely lizardlike, had a long skinny neck, a pair of wings, and a mouthful of teeth. It was at least twelve feet long and its head looked like a lizard's. Its tongue flicked out and its catlike eyes focused on Link before it opened its mouth to unleash a ball of green flame.

The ball missed the inn, but it hit an area nearby. Link drew his sword.

"Get out of here! I'll handle this!"

The flying creature flew away from the town with Link in hot pursuit. Just as Link followed it to about halfway to Ikana Canyon until it disappeared. Link searched wildly, but then an all-too-familiar voice slithered into his ear.

"So, that fool, Dracon, thought he could get you to kill me? He's more desperate than I thought."

Link whirled around to see none other than Goldra. Link took out his sword, but Goldra simply laughed.

"That trick won't work on me. If the crocodile couldn't do it to me before, what makes you think it will do it THIS time?" Goldra asked, "Why don't you take a look at me NOW?"

Goldra lifted his hands and did what Link didn't want him to do. He whipped off his robes to reveal a large man. His face was human with back-length, black hair, but his face was covered with throbbing veins. Under those robes was golden armor and a black cape with a red inside.

"Where's the dragon, Goldra?" Link asked, angrily.

"Dragon? There was no dragon. It was a mere illusion to lure you to me and you fell for it." Goldra said, fighting back a laugh. He then looked up. "But if you want to try and kill me," He said, pulling out a gold claymore, "Then COME!"

Goldra sped forward and swung at Link, who parried and slashed at him on instinct. Upon further thought, Link realized that he had been suckered as he saw Goldra's wound heal over in seconds. Goldra grinned as he swung it again. Both their blades met in several clashes of metal and impact sparks. Goldra swung for an eighth time and Link rolled on the ground to avoid getting chopped in two. Link countered with another slash, but Goldra simply stepped back and swung. This attack hit Link on the arm, but the wound healed over like the one before it.

"We'll be at this ALL DAY." Link reminded him.

"Fool. Don't you realize I'm not aiming to kill you?" Goldra said, fighting another urge to laugh.

"What do you mean?" Link asked.

Goldra didn't answer. Instead, he simply thrust forward with his claymore. Link dodged, then jumped to aim his sword down at Goldra's head. Goldra sidestepped it and aimed a kick at Link, who ducked and kicked him in the back. Goldra stumbled forward, but spun on his heel just as Link charged and backhanded him across the face. Link fell on his back and rolled to his right to avoid getting Goldra's boot smashed into his skull, and worse still, he had to do it again. Link spun back to his feet and jumped to avoid a sweep from the claymore. Both stood a good distance from each other.

"Link, you're the hero of time. I certainly expected more out of you." Goldra said with a snort.

"Well, you haven't seen ALL my tricks yet. That's very important."

Link charged this time and swung his sword only to meet Goldra's claymore. However, Link wanted that as he spun his sword and sliced Goldra's wrist open. Normally, this would have been a fatal blow, but since the Gilded Sword wouldn't kill him. This was enough to make Goldra let go of his claymore.

"YES!" Link said, seizing the Claymore.

Goldra looked up just in time to see Link rush up and impale him on it. Goldra screamed in pain and stood there with the blade sticking out of his heart, or whatever was there.

"Glad that's settled. Now, to figure out how to remove the curse..." Link said as he walked away.

"THAT...HURT!" An eerily familiar voice said.

Link whirled around to see Goldra walking toward him, his claymore still sticking out of his chest.

_Goldra, why won't you DIE?! A croc bite wouldn't, now your own sword won't? What does it take?!_

_R&R--Dimensiondude_


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13: The Road to Despair**

Goldra slowly walked over to Link, almost like a puppet on a string. He looked down at the weapon sticking out of his chest, then took the claymore's handle in his hand and jerked it out. Link cringed in disgust as the claymore wasn't covered in blood, but black stuff that looked like ink.

"Did you ACTUALLY take that pathetic dragon's advice literally?" Goldra said, looking at his claymore.

He tossed it over to Link again, who picked it up. How could this have happened? Dracon said he had to kill him with his own weapon, but why wasn't it working now?

Enraged, Link roared as he charged with the claymore in hand and slashed Goldra several times across the chest and abdomen. Goldra laughed, as though the blade ripping open his internal organs was a feather tickling his foot. The wounds healed over and Goldra continued laughing. Then, the dark one took matters into his own hands and seized the claymore before jerking it out of Link's hands. He sheathed it and took a step forward.

"Don't you realize, Link? You cannot kill me!"

In an instant, Goldra's flesh started to mold into a new form. His golden armor became golden scales on his skin and his face took a more reptilian look. His feet turned into three-toed, dinosaurian feet, and his hands sprouted sharp claws. He opened his new mouth and several sharp fangs emerged from his gums. A tail sprang from his body and there were small black spines down it. Finally, his cape turned into a pair of batlike wings.

Link recognized this beast from the nightmare he had before this whole adventure began. It was the same one that seized him by the head.

"Now, shall we continue?" Goldra said as he took a step forward.

Link took a step back and Goldra sprang like a cat. All Link could do was watch it coming as the claymore fell to the ground.

Suddenly, Goldra froze and didn't seem to notice Link in front of him.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU LISTEN TO ME, LINK?!" A familiar voice shouted.

In a flutter of leaves, the Skull Kid appeared from nowhere and landed in front of Link. He strutted up to him and shook his head.

"I figured you would at least hear me out. I tried to warn you about that beast, but did you listen? NO!" Skull Kid said as he folded his arms and looked away.

"Let's just get out of here!" Link said, taking the Skull Kid by the arm and heading back to Clock Town.

When Link got back, the town looked like a twister had just hit it. Buildings were smashed and the ground was littered with debris. Some parts had been burned while others were totaled.

"Look at what those monsters have done."

Link turned to see Kafei behind him.

"If this keeps up, Clock Town will be nothing but rubble. And standing here won't do anything." Kafei said, looking at the ground.

Link thought for a while. They had to go to a place where there weren't too many people and not much to destroy. Then, it hit him.

"Romani Ranch. If we can go there, they won't be able to destroy much and not too many people live there." Link suggested.

"If it means keeping other people safe, I'll take any chances." Kafei replied, nodding in determination.

"Oh, you want help from the farm girl? I'll be right back." Skull Kid said, vanishing in a gust of leaves.

Night had fallen and Link had made sure that there would be no full moon. In fact, he even made it so that there would be no moon tonight. Kafei had gotten Anju and Zelda at the southern exit of Clock Town. All they had to do now was wait. Then, it appeared--a covered wagon with what looked like Cremia driving it. Link waved his hand in the air.

"Over here!" He called.

In seconds, the carriage driver turned and smiled at Link.

"Why, hello there, Grasshopper. I haven't seen you in a few years. Where have you been?"

Link stood there, surprised. Grasshopper? Why would Cremia call him that? Unless...

"Romani? Is that you?" Link asked, squinting to see better, "You look so much like your sister. Speaking of which, where is she?"

"Oh, she went off, got married, and she now lives back at the ranch." She answered with a wink, "Anyway, I got message you want to come over." Link nodded. "Well, hop in! We have a long way to go and little time to get there."

So, everyone hopped into the wagon. When Zelda got in, she had one question on her mind.

"Who is this girl and why does she call you 'grasshopper'?" She asked.

"It's a long story." Link answered.

Zelda sat down next to Link and said, "Try me."

After Link had told his story, the wagon came to an abrupt stop. The way to Romani Ranch had been blocked off by a landslide. Link suddenly realized that Goldra obviously knew of his departure and had other plans for him. That was the only way this could have happened, no more, no less.

"Looks like we'll have to take the Gorman route..." Romani said as she changed direction.

"Will they try and mug us?" Kafei asked, cautiously.

"Don't worry. Since Link left, they've been on their best behavior." Romani said.

She then whipped the reins and moved on.

--

Like Romani said, the Gormans were nowhere to be found, but a strange mist had covered the night ground like a blanket. Link had moved to the back of the wagon to make sure nothing followed them. He couldn't see anything, yet he had the sudden feeling that they were being watched by something unseen. Link fingered his sword and listened carefully to any sound that would alert him to danger: footfalls, rustling leaves, anything that would give him a hint.

Suddenly, he heard something he had not been listening for, because he wasn't expecting it. It was the sound of flapping wings. Link whirled around, and saw a giant eagle-like thing flying straight at him, but this was no ordinary eagle. It was large enough to carry Link away in its talons and didn't even have feathers, more along the lines of bat wings. It caught Link in its talons and picked him right out of the wagon, not from the front, but from the side. The birdlike creature rose higher and higher into the air, but Link had been in worse situations and took his sword. He quickly made a gash in the creature's leg and it screeched in pain as it released the Hylian hero.

Link fell a good twenty feet down down and landed between the moving horses. He could imagine the surprise of Romani seeing him drop there when he was supposed to be behind them. The green-clad hero was holding on for dear life and tried desperately to get back up. He heaved himself up and jumped back onto of the wagon, but the moment he was back in, the creature came back and snatched Link in its feet again. He was almost carried away when someone seized his foot. Link looked down and saw Romani holding on with all her strength. She had tied the reins and had reached up just as the creature was going to fly away. The creature, immobilized with the combined weight, tried raking Link with its talons. Link held on for dear life, but then the bird let him go, landing him right on top of Romani. Link searched his pockets for anything he lost, but then realized that something was missing.

"You okay, Link?" Romani asked as she looked him over.

"I'm fine. But the Moon Pearl isn't!" Link said as he pointed at the bird.

It was true. The bird wasn't just raking Link, it was searching his pockets and found the moon jewel in it. The bird gripped the jewel and smashed it with his clawed foot.

"NO! IT DESTROYED THE MOON PEARL!"

Those words struck something in both Zelda and Kafei. Zelda realized that Link would then have to transform against his will and had a look of fear on her face, but at least he could still control himself...for the moment.

The bird creature made a wide turn and came back again, but Link was smarter this time. He took his sword and swiped it as passed. The bird fell to the ground, missing one wing, but the sheer speed of it was enough to knock Link into the wagon and landed right beside Zelda.

"Hello, Zelda." Link greeted, awkwardly.

Zelda's reply was cut short by a loud noise that was like a screech mixed with a roar. Link looked outside and saw a large, carnivorous-looking dinosaur that looked surprisingly like a certain raptor on an island he got stranded on running right at them. The notable difference was that it was pitch-dark and had glowing red eyes. It had a row of what appeared to be blades going down its neck and had a small, rhino-like horn coming from its nose. It was running so fast that it was level with Link in speed. After a while, it leapt right at the wagon, catching the cover with its claws and ripping them open. The claws narrowly missed Zelda's head and hooked into the wood. The covering on the wagon was being ripped to ribbons as the creature began trying effortlessly to get through with its claws.

Eventually, a rip was wide enough for the creature's head to fit through. It stuck its head into the rip, bared its teeth and growled like a snarling panther. Link acted on instinct and punched the raptor square in the nose. The raptor grunted in surprise and pulled its head out. At first, Link thought he got it for good. However, he heard a deep breath and the cover on the wagon burst into flame. Link recoiled in surprise and saw the creature rear up to its six-foot height.

"Everyone jump!" Link commanded.

Romani detached the horses from the wagon and leapt out as the wagon was still moving. Zelda, Kafei, and Anju followed her. Link leapt off last in order to take care of the creature. He got out his sword and leapt out just when the creature did. Just when the creature was going to land on him, Link pointed his sword upward and the creature was impaled. Just before it died, it sank its teeth into some part on Link's tunic. The horses knew their way back to Romani Ranch, so Romani didn't have to worry about them. The rest wouldn't reveal itself until morning.

--

Morning came, and Zelda wandered the trail, looking for Link. They had all jumped off at different times, so they could be a long way off. She saw something in the grass and went to check it out. It was only the slain creature with a gaping hole in its gut which oozed black, tarlike goop. She did see the silhouette of Link's body in the tall grass, but he was nowhere in sight. A groan from the trail up ahead made her move faster, but she didn't find Link. Instead, she found Kafei and Anju coming over to her.

"There you are. Where were you?" Kafei asked, wearily.

"I was looking for Link." Zelda answered.

"There's no need. Romani found him." Kafei said, "You'll find them about five minutes that way."

"Thank you." Zelda said.

She then ran off as fast as her dress would allow her with Anju and Kafei close behind. She found Romani kneeling over an exhausted, and injured, Link.

"Link, you're okay!" Zelda said happily.

Her smile faded into a look of sadness as she saw a kind of spark issuing from around Link's neck. She looked at it and saw the mind pendant cracked down the middle with sparks of magic shooting out of it. The crack began at a long, white, T-rex-like tooth embedded in its center; the raptor's tooth. It flickered feebly for a moment before its once-violet glow faded into a dull crystal. Kafei arrived on the scene to see this happen and he stood there, mouth agape.

"No...Now there's no hope left. The only thing that can help Link now is defeating Goldra." Kafei said in a solemn voice.

Zelda's look of horror spread as she realized that the curse was now on full-throttle. Link couldn't control the moon and now he had no control over the beasts within.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14: The Palace in the Storm**

It took much longer without the horses, but Link, Zelda, Kafei, Anju, and Romani had made it to the ranch. They tended to any and all injuries that the bird and dinosaur-beast had made.

At the ranch, Link explained how he tried to kill Goldra with Dracon. The dragon seemed confused as Link told him about impaling Goldra on his own claymore.

_It didn't work?_

"No. But you said, 'You must kill him with his own weapon.' Nothing I did worked on him!" Link growled as he punched the ground.

_Hmmm,_ Dracon said to himself, _If his own steel won't kill him, then what will?_

"Well, we don't have time to think. The curse will consume me on the next full moon." Link said, actually starting to sound worried.

_But that's TONIGHT!_ Simeon, the monkey, interrupted.

_You're not exactly helping, you know that?_ Mako snarled.

Link only barely stood up. He was about to get out of the ranch and prepare for life as a beast when Garuda the eagle spoke up.

_Before you trundle off like that, Link, someone's coming for you._

Link turned and saw Kafei running toward him. Kafei looked like he had run a mile, but managed to speak nonetheless.

"Link, I found something that might interest you. I was trying to find a way to Goldra's weakness when I found this."

He turned the book over so Link could see what he wanted him to and pointed at a symbol. The illustration of a door on that page had a spiral that looked like a dragon with demonic-looking wings. Link's eyes widened as he snatched the book. He ignored the comment from Kafei and racked his brains of where he saw it.

"Hey...I saw this when I was at the Stone Tower! It was on a wall about halfway up. This might be a clue." Link said, the realization coming out of his mouth.

"You did? When'd YOU get to the Stone Tower?" Kafei asked.

"It's a long story. We have to get to the Stone Tower and FAST. The next full moon is TONIGHT."

Link gave the book back to Kafei and raced off for Romani's cottage.

Inside, Zelda was bent over a table, staring blankly at it. By the end of the day, the man she loved would turn into a mindless monster. A hero would turn into a murderer and there would be no hope for her.

The door swung open and Link came through. It was enough to snap Zelda out of her little trance and she turned, startled, to the door, regaining her breath just enough to speak. However, she didn't have enough time when Link spoke up first.

"Zelda, I think I've found a way to find Goldra. If we want to find a way to stop him, I'll bet the Stone Tower has a few clues. I want you to stay with Anju and keep her-"

"No." Zelda said, shooting to her feet, "If there's any means of helping you, I'm going to find it. So, if you're going somewhere, you'll have to take me too."

Link stood there, speechless. He sighed and smiled as he closed his eyes.

"There's no point in arguing. But we'll have to go fast, because time is NOT on our side."

Zelda nodded in determination and walked out the door after Link. It would take too long to go to the Stone Tower on foot, so they decided to go on horse.

Link, Zelda, and Kafei were just outside the Stone Tower and entered it. Kafei found something in his lucky book on dark lords of Termina that made him pause. After reading it carefully, he realized that Link and Zelda had left him behind. He panicked slightly and raced off after them.

Zelda looked up at the structure of the Stone Tower and stared in awe. Kafei had managed to catch up.

"How are we going to find the symbol in a place THIS huge? It could take all evening!" Kafei asked, looking up at the tower with Zelda.

Link's pupils suddenly turned into catlike slits and, on instinct, he seized both Kafei and Zelda around the scruffs of their necks, startling both of them. He then jumped an astonishing twenty feet up and landed on the nearest platform. He did it again and again until he was about halfway up the tower. There, he stopped and growled, as though restraining pain. Zelda looked at him, a tear nearly escaping her eye.

"It's...almost...time...It's sunset." Link said, catching his breath, "But don't worry. I'll be fine." He added as Kafei offered to help him up.

Link uneasily got to his feet and guided Zelda and Kafei all the way to the place he remembered. There, on the wall and almost unnoticeable, was the dragon symbol that Kafei found in his book.

"Okay...now what do we do?" Link asked, trying to make sense of this trip.

Kafei flipped open his book and started flipping through the pages madly. After a minute, he placed his finger on a page and recited the following.

"Great lord of the sky, please hear my cry.  
The beasts of the land conquer my home on the sand.  
I've gone through much pain, but had little to gain.  
I call, I cry, I even sing that you will make me the monsters' king.  
Now help me fly, help me soar, and in the name of Goldra, open this door!"

The dragon symbol's eyes flared red and a great crack sprang from its top and bottom. Once the crack was about ten feet up, it curved to the left and right until it reached the bottom. It then slowly opened up with a rumble to reveal a white, misty portal of sorts. Link was amazed at what happened and reached out his hand to touch the portal. His hand went right through and he pulled it out to see that it was okay other than the fact it was all wet.

"It's raining in there." Link said, stifling a laugh, "Now, let's see what we can find through this door."

Link took a deep breath and closed his eyes as he stepped through the door.

Link opened his eyes to see that he was at a large castle in the middle of a thunderstorm. Rain was falling nonstop and lightning tickled the faraway mountains. Link was too busy wondering what else was out there to find out Zelda and Kafei had gone through the door, too. He felt someone grab his shoulder, whirled around, and nearly scared Zelda to death.

"Sorry." Link apologized, "I guess I'm still not used to that..."

"Oh my gosh..." Kafei said, goggling over the castle, "Goldra's palace! No one has ever found this place..."

"Come on. We have no time to lose!" Link said, rushing off for the castle.

The inside of the castle was eerily similar to a certain dark sorcerer in an erased timeline. It had several torches along the floor, all with an eerie, yellow flame. The walls seemed to be made of pure obsidian and had intricate, silver designs on them.

Link went first, but instantly heard a stone tumble across the floor, turned, and saw a batlike creature with a spear. The creature had bat wings fused into its arms, big, pointy ears, and a mouthful of sharp teeth. It was muttering under its breath about the guard shift and how much they weren't paying it enough, when it turned and saw three new people in the castle. After staring for a few seconds, it turned to run away, but Link took his sword and tossed it at the creature. The sword went right through the bat's wing and pinned it to the wall. Link had no intention of killing the creature, but instead walked up to it. He seized it by the neck and it struggled to get free. Link was thankful for his beast strength. Without it, he'd probably get fought off.

"Tell us where Goldra is, now!" Link growled.

"Not in your life, you big, dirty dog!" The creature said coldly.

Link emitted a loud snarl and the creature had a look of fear on his face. It struggled madly to get away, but when it realized it couldn't get free, it shrieked in fear.

"OKAY! OKAY! I'LL TALK! I'LL TALK! He's in the upper right spire! Just promise you won't bite me!" The creature pleaded.

Link was confused. Why was this creature afraid of getting bitten? Link jerked the sword out of the creature's wing and ran it through him. If he had lived, he most certainly would have found Goldra and warned him.

"He was afraid of you biting him?" Kafei asked. He thought for a while, then an idea struck him. "I think…the only thing that can kill Goldra is a beast. Not just any creature, the cursed beast!"

"That would explain why I killed Vala with a single bite. The gods wanted to make sure that there was a way to kill him, so they made him a weapon that could kill him. That's what it meant when it said, 'use his own weapon against him'. It all makes sense!"

"And," Kafei continued, "If Goldra's gone, we'll be able to cure you with the song of healing. While you were asleep, I tried it previously, but it didn't work."

Link paused, then asked, "Wait, if only the beast can harm him, why didn't the crocodile do anything?"

"Because it wasn't the right beast. I saw something in a book, and if I know my interpreting skills, I'd think that the beast meant to kill him was the wolf."

Link snapped to the job and said, "Alright, here's the plan. I'll find Goldra and kill him when I get the chance. You two will wait on the sidelines until I do kill him. When you see him dead, play the Song of Healing and I'll be back to normal."

Link and his two friends began to walk for the right spire. "Began" was the appropriate word, because Link hadn't even taken a single step when a giant bird that looked surprisingly like a raven swooped down and took Zelda's ocarina. Zelda screamed, but more in surprise than pain as she tumbled to the floor. Zelda quickly got back to her feet, hurried to a window, and looked out to see the massive bird flying to a nearby spire, its ten-foot wings beating against the wind. Link looked down and shook his head.

"Great. Now things are getting tough. Looks like one of you will have to go after it while one of you stays close with me. If I don't kill Goldra by the time the curse consumes me, it's up to you, Kafei." Link corrected himself.

"Please don't say that, Link." Zelda begged.

"I'm sorry, but it's the truth. Let's get moving!" Link said.

Zelda nodded, put her hands together and was instantly changed into her Sheikah garments. Kafei leapt back in surprise at Zelda's change of wardrobe.

"How'd she do that?" Kafei asked.

"Long story." Link answered, "But right now we have about two hours to find Goldra. So, LET'S GO!"

Zelda gave Link a quick kiss before Link and Kafei sprinted off to Goldra's lair while she went after the raven. There could be no mistakes now, because there would be NO second chances.

_A'ight, it's time to get down to business! Can they make it? Stay tuned..._

_D-Dude_


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15: Bugs and Beasts**

Zelda had sprinted the opposite way of Link and was heading toward a large steel door. As she reached it, she tried to push it open, but the iron slab wouldn't budge an inch

"Great." She huffed, "A dead end."

She was about to turn around and go back to the entrance when she spotted, out of the corner of her eye, an open window. The idea sprang to her before it was even in her head. With a few well-judged and well-timed jumps, she ricocheted off walls and was at the window's edge. Turned out that the rain was getting worse as she took a good, long, hard look. It was pounding down on the roof so loudly that it was almost as loud as the thunder in the distance. She shook the thoughts out of her head, then leapt out the window and gracefully landed on the roof shingles. She quickly looked around and saw a certain turret of the castle: it was where she saw the giant raven flying. With no time to lose, she sprang across the rooftop with the strength and agility of an olympic gymnast.

When she got to the turret she was looking for, she found out that it was too steep to climb and too high to jump. She looked around for any way to ascend and she found it. The turret was right next to another and the idea immediately sprang to her mind. She jumped to the turret, then kicked against the wall, springing herself to the other one. She repeated the process until she jumped right through the turret's window.

The ocarina of time was on a pedestal in the middle of the room, its blue glow glowing, reflecting the light of several torches. Zelda crossed to the middle of the room and reached for the ocarina, but then a thought hit her.

_It's quiet...TOO quiet. _She thought to herself.

Zelda looked around for any form of trap in the room. For the moment, she heard nothing, but then she heard the unmistakeable sound of shifting stone. She whirled around in time to see an elaborately-carved statue of a giant beetle turn a purplish-black color and begin to shake slightly. The shaking continued until the statue broke free of its mount and fall off the wall, landing with its back facing the ceiling. For a while, Zelda stared, then suddenly realized that the thing was ALIVE.

"Oh no..." Zelda said to herself.

Within seconds, the beetle "statue" stood up on two, powerful hind legs to reveal its true form. It had the basic body of a muscular man, but had FOUR arms rather than two. It had a pair of jaws similar to a bulldog's with razor-sharp teeth, but also a pair of scissor-like pincers on the sides of its mouth. Its eyes were big, round, and emerald green and its back was covered by a shield-like armor. It emitted a high-pitched shriek and lunged at Zelda with its three-clawed hand. The princess, however, was far from a damsel in distress. She evaded it by flipping backward with the strength and skill of a ninja.

"It is by Goldra's orders that you do not pass! In the name of Scarem, you are punished by death!" The bug snarled at Zelda, "I'm going to rip out your innards and FEAST upon your flesh!" He added as he lowered onto all six legs and scrambled after her like a hungry spider after a fly.

The beast, or "Scarem", reared up on two legs when he was four feet from Zelda and attacked. Zelda couldn't read minds, but she could tell that he was thinking about his next meal: fresh meat.

--

Link and Kafei searched the castle grounds for the demonic overlord. If he didn't stop this dragon lord, he not only would become his eternal servant, but Termina would be nothing but desolate wasteland in a matter of weeks. Those facts only made him want to find Goldra quicker and he began running faster with Kafei sprinting in order to keep up with him.

"How are we going to find Goldra?" Kafei asked, impatiently, "He could be anywhere."

"We have to get his attention." Link said, already knowing the answer.

Link took out his Gilded sword and stopped at a corner, quickly stopping Kafei before he could go any further. Link slowly peeked around the corner and saw a piggish creature similar to a Moblin: it was clad in ebony armor and wielded, not a spear or club, but a jagged claymore similar to what Goldra used. He also found that there was more than one: Four as a matter of fact.

Link had one idea, but he hoped that these creatures were just as dumb as the Moblins back home. He picked up a stone and threw it somewhere behind them. The plan worked, because the monsters turned to see what made the noise, blinking stupidly. As the monsters turned to see what happened, Link ran over to one and stabbed it in the back. It emitted a groan in pain as it fell to the floor, catching the attention of the other three Moblins. One took a swing at Link, who dove right in between its legs and planted the Gilded Sword in its back, piercing its spinal cord. Another heaved its claymore in a vertical chop only to see Link step back to avoid it. It was MORE than surprise when it saw Link run straight UP the claymore and bring his sword slicing through its neck. As the last monster fell to the floor, dead as a doornail, Link heard an inhuman screech from deep within the castle's interior.

"Now we have his attention." Link said confidently, "Kafei, stay here and wait for my cue."

"Understood." Kafei replied.

Link ran off to a place where he knew no one would come to Goldra's assistance: the tallest spire. There, he waited for the dark lord, but not without fear. Link knew that should he fail, he would NOT get another chance at this. It was either win or die trying.

--

Zelda rolled across the floor, trying to avoid Scarem, who was now trying to get with both jaw and claw. She thrust both her feet up right at the bug's midsection and it slid back a reasonable distance. It was enough for her to get away, but the oversized scarab was not only huge, he was FAST: dashing over to her just as she regained her footing. Zelda realized then that, in order to get the ocarina back, she'd have to kill this overgrown cockroach. Scarem reared up, attempting to catch Zelda with both of his pairs of jaws, but Zelda leapt into the air to avoid him. While in midair, she took out a dagger and tried jabbing it into the insect's back as soon as she landed behind him. The only result she got was steel clanging on hard armor as her dagger ended up being bent into a useless pile of metal.

"Foolish mortal! Do you honestly think you can hurt me like that?" Scarem asked, a screech in his tone.

With one swipe of a pair of his arms, Scarem backhanded Zelda to the other side of the room. She flew away so fast that she was virtually flying. And when she hit the wall, she crumpled to the floor with a grunt. Zelda quickly shook the cobwebs from her head and sidestepped Scarem again, the beetle-man's sheer-like jaws missing her by inches. The jaws were so strong and so sharp that they actually lodged themselves into the brick wall.

As Scarem attempted to dislodge his jaws, Zelda knew she had the opportunity to attack, but physical attacks wouldn't hurt the bug, so she improvised. She charged a spell in both hands and fired it at the beetle in the form of an orb of light. But when the spell hit the armor, it bounced off Scarem's shiny backand destroyed a part of the wall inches from where she was. The princess of Hyrule could only stare as Scarem removed his jaws from the wall and emitted a quiet, malicious, cackle.

"That kinda tickled, but no harm done." Scarem informed as he went for Zelda again.

He charged forward like a spider after its prey again, but Zelda leapt onto his back and bounced off it before he could attack. Scarem, however, seemed to have predicted this, because he scuttled up the wall and chased after her. As Zelda took in this fact, Scarem knocked her back with one swing of his three-clawed hand. Zelda caught herself in midair and landed on her feet, but Scarem was already there. He charged forward and his jaws grazed Zelda's thigh just as she jumped away, shedding blood. Zelda quickly glanced at the gash in her leg; it wasn't too bad, so she could keep fighting, but how? That armor would protect the bug from virtually anything.

"Hold still so I can tear you to shreds!" Scarem shrieked furiously.

Zelda didn't know what to do. She couldn't hurt him with magic or steel and the monster bug was gaining the advantage with its speed and its strength. Scarem charged again and reared up, trying to catch Zelda with its antlion-esque jaws. Zelda swiftly acted on pure instinct and raised her leg to plant the ball of her foot into Scarem's chin. THIS seemed to be the only thing that did work as the giant insect staggered back several steps before shaking his head and attacked again. Zelda, with a determined scream, curled into a ball and rolled under Scarem's legs, dodging him in the process. Scarem staggered forward and crashed into a wall, stunning him for one second. Scarem, again, grabbed hold of the walls and scaled it like a spider. Once on the ceiling, the beetle looked down with a malicious grin and vomited a green substance at Zelda. Zelda rolled out of the way and the stuff splattered all over the floor. At first, Zelda thought it was just sick, but then saw that the stuff burned a hole through the floor that, just seconds ago, she stood on.

"Whew! That was too close..." Zelda said to herself.

The giant scarab was not moving from that spot and continuing to spit acid at her, but then Zelda got an idea and acted before she even thought of a plan. She charged up a bit of magic and fired an orb up toward Scarem. She didn't hit Scarem, but she did hit the ceiling he was on, which cracked and eventually crumbled. When it fell, so did Scarem with a screech as he plummeted to the floor and landed on his back.

"YOU LITTLE MAGGOT!! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!!" Scarem cursed as he rocked back and forth on his armored back.

Zelda suddenly spotted a potential weak spot: Scarem's back was armor-plated, but he had a soft underbelly. Scarem virtually rocked himself to sleep trying to get off his back, all the while shrieking some threat about Zelda and her vital organs. Unfortunately, he had about as much success as a turtle that was turned over and couldn't flip himself.

Zelda whipped out another knife and tossed it right at Scarem's soft belly with the precision of a ninja. The knife pierced the skin like butter and black blood gushed out as Scarem screeched in pain and cursed even louder. He wasn't dead, but badly injured and he couldn't move. Zelda knew that the knife wouldn't be enough to kill him, so she improvised. She charged up magic once more and blasted the beetle with it. The beam collided with Scarem's underbelly and he exploded with a bloodcurdling cry in defeat. Within seconds, black bug guts had covered everything within a thirty-foot radius. It was as though someone set off a cherry bomb in a bucket of black paint. Unfortunately, some of the "Black paint" splattered all over Zelda, some even getting in her hair.

"Ugh! I'll definitely need a bath after this." Zelda said as she tried, in vain, to wipe some of the stuff off.

After a failed attempt at getting herself clean, Zelda took the ocarina and tucked it behind her back in the same place she carried her harp as "Sheik". Mission accomplished; now to find Link. However, the castle was huge and she would have to be right the first time.

--

Link had reached the tallest spire when he heard the loud blare of a war trumpet of sorts. Link quickly went to a window to see what was happening, but before he could get a good look, he heard the sound of flapping wings and was kicked in the back of the head by a scaly foot. Goldra had found him and kicked while he was in midair. Link fell out the window and fell several feet before crashing through the roof and landing with a thud. Right now, Link was thankful for his curse: without it, he'd be DEAD right now. He shoved the debris off him and slowly staggered to his feet as a certain golden dragon landed behind him and resumed his human form.

"You're too late, Link. By midnight, you'll be mine. Why do you fight? Why not join me and have eternal life at my side?" He asked with a large smile.

Link shook his head as Goldra held out his hand, as though asking Link to take it.

"I pity you. Your eternal life is nothing more than a curse from the gods, for you have nothing to share it with." Link said in response,"So, the only way to get rid of this curse is to kill you?" Link asked.

Goldra could only snort at Link's question. "Correct." He answered, "But as you've seen, that is IMPOSSIBLE."

Strangely, Link smiled and a confused expression crossed Goldra's face.

"So be it." Link answered, "A little friend named Dracon gave me clues, but now I know EXACTLY how to kill you!"

Link looked outside and saw the full moon glowing in the night sky. Link growled and said a strained, "You will pay" Before the transformation happened.

Link fell to his knees as he roared, ripped his tunic off, and turned into the werewolf that nearly killed Zelda. He let out a snarl as the transformation finished, then turned to his worst enemy and unleashed a roar of pure hatred. Goldra stared, wide-eyed at his own servant seeming to turn on him. Then his eyes scrunched in anger and his fists clenched harder

"THIS is how you treat me when I save you from death?!" Goldra exclaimed, "Hehehehe...I guess the irony of it all is I gave you eternal life, NOW I'll take it back!" He said with a slight hint of humor.

Link, now letting the werewolf side of him take control, let out a snarl that a certain princess heard from the other side of the castle. Link was advancing on Goldra and the dark lord, for the first time in his life, had to fight for his life. In a bone-twisting transformation, Goldra had turned into the humanoid dragon that haunted Link's dream and let out a roar of his own. A huge fistfight had begun between a fierce wolf and a deadly dragon and Link had the most to lose: Not only his human mind, but possibly his life. If Link could kill Goldra, then maybe Goldra could kill him as well.

Zelda had heard the call of the werewolf from the other side of the castle and knew she had to find Link if the plan was going to succeed. She heard wings beat near the window and saw the giant raven that took the ocarina. The idea instantly springing into her head, Zelda hopped onto the bird's back just as it was about to fetch its master and quickly held onto its head. The bird struggled and squawked in an attempt to get the princess off, but then its struggles weakened and began flying toward the source of the noise. Zelda had seized control of the monster bird's mind and was controlling it as though it were an obedient mount now. Zelda heard war commands and looked below through the bird's eyes. Zelda let out a gasp of panic as she saw an army of monsters, zombies, and various other creatures marching through the door Link, Kafei, and herself went through in order to get to this place.

The army was huge: outnumbering the Hylian army at least tenfold. Zelda had to free Link of the curse, no matter what. She feared that the army would not only wipe out Termina, but they could possibly find a way to Hyrule...


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16: War of Monsters**

The battle came with surprising suddenness. With a loud snarl, Link was the starting shot between a battle of wolf and dragon. With one flex of his muscular legs, Link tackled Goldra, knocking the dragon lord backward. But the humanoid dragon absorbed the impact without losing his balance, pulled Link off, and punched him across the face with his scaly fist. Link quickly recovered from the blow and sprang for Goldra again, but the golden dragon took flight with a single flap of its massive, black wings and kicked Link in the chin with his dinosaur-like foot. The dark lord touched on the ground, then sharply brought his knee into Link's midsection, knocking the wind from his lungs in the process. Link began to recoil in pain: "recoil" was the right word, because he had just bent over when Goldra seized a handful of his fur and tossed him into the ebony wall with a CRASH.

Link wasn't down for long, much to Goldra's dismay, and dove for him again. The dragon was quick to take to the wing, but was more surprised to see Link jump from wall to wall and grab him by the feet. Goldra's weight, combined with Link's, was too heavy for the black wings to lift and both plummeted to the ground with a crash. Rubble fell on top of them on impact and buried both of them.

Kafei arrived on the scene just in time to see the two try to kill each other. He wanted to do something to help, but he couldn't. Kafei was a mere man while Link and Goldra were two beasts that were beyond his strength, intelligence, and skill. All he could do now was wait on the sidelines for Link's plan to fall into place, but one thing was missing from the plan.

_Zelda, old buddy, old pal...this would be a REAL good time for you to show up._

A fist shattered the rubble in the middle of the room and Goldra rose from the ground in his human form. Yet even after getting pummeled by Link, he wasn't badly injured. Even his cape was undamaged and his armor wasn't even scratched. Any injury that Link inflicted had healed up in seconds, but Link had an equal advantage. He rose from the debris as Goldra spoke, the wolf shaking the cobwebs from his head.

Goldra smirked as he said, "You can't possibly think you can defeat me, Link. My powers are too great for you. And by the way, you don't have much longer..."

Goldra was right. The curse of the beast would envelop Link at midnight, but now it was only a few minutes from that time. Link heaved himself off the floor and scowled at Goldra, the expression still alive in his wolfish face. With another bloodthirsty roar, he galloped at Goldra at top speed. The dark one resumed his dragon form and took to the wing where he hoped he would be out of Link's range. Apparently, the werewolf was cleverer than Goldra thought as he wall-jumped again and seized his opponent by the ankle. Goldra, now very disturbed at such a cheap trick, spun in midair and whipped Link across the face with his tail. It was enough to make Link let go and create a gash between Link's eyes. The cut healed over in a second, but Link had lost his grip and he emitted a frustrated snarl.

Link leapt onto the next wall, ready to meet Goldra this time and reached for him. Goldra swerved, causing him to miss...or so he thought, because Link improvised and seized him by the tail. Before Goldra even knew what had happened, Link swung him in a wide arc and smashed him into the opposite wall. As Goldra shook the cobwebs from his head, Link jumped and landed onto Goldra's back. The dragon-like dark lord shrieked in surprise as he tried to shake Link off in midair, performing complex dives and rolls. However, Link's grip was true and he took one of the massive wings in each hand and began squeezing until a wing gave an unpleasant crunch. Goldra screeched in pain, but that wasn't all Link was about to do. The beast then took the already-damaged wing and began to twist it in many agonizing ways, maximizing the damage. Goldra's screams got louder and louder and suddenly became a shriek as Link twisted his wing in half, severing it at the elbow joint. The wing membranes ripped like paper and the wing's remnant fell to the floor like a poorly-made paper airplane. Goldra spiraled to the ground while Link hopped off at the last second.

Goldra got up, VERY grumpy now and took a swing at Link with his tail, catching him full in the face. Link staggered backward, but regained his balance in time to duck under a swipe from Goldra's claws and countered with a sharp uppercut. Goldra stumbled, regained his balance, and swung at Link again. This time, however, Link's wolf instincts were too quick and he grabbed the oncoming tail with his clawed hands, then dug his teeth into it. Goldra roared in pain as he thrashed violently, but wasn't expecting Link to jerk his tail and pull him right into an uppercut. While Goldra was stunned, Link seized him by the shoulders and spun him like a discus before flinging him through the ceiling. The ceiling and roof shattered like glass and rain began to pelt Goldra's scales until he resumed his true form and looked down through the hole. Link glared back up at him, his yellow eyes scrunched in hate. He then took his claws and sharpened them on the ebony wall, leaving a trail of sparks. Goldra then noticed that when Link showed off his claws, they had a bladelike glint in them.

_Well, looks like the boy is stronger than I thought. I never thought I'd say this, but I could be in SERIOUS trouble now..._

--

Zelda flew on the back of the gargantuan raven through the storm's trial and saw Goldra smash through the ceiling like glass and instantly knew that a battle deciding the fate of Termina was going on in there. As she continued her flight, she saw Werewolf Link leap up after Goldra and land right across from him. She knew there wasn't much time and tried to make the raven go faster like it was a horse. She wasn't, however, expecting the raven to suddenly squawk in pain and buck like a disturbed donkey. When Zelda got a better look at her attacker, she soon wished she hadn't. It was a disgusting creature at best. It looked like a bat and flew like one too, but it had pink, hairless skin that looked semi-transparent and stretched over its skeleton and organs. As she got a closer look, she saw it had a mouth full of dagger-like teeth and a pair of white, bulbous eyes. On its feet were sharp talons like an eagle's and shaped like meat hooks. Basically, it looked like a cross between a vampire bat and a naked mole rat and the stench coming from it was almost enough to make Zelda's nose bleed.

"What is THAT? It is NASTY!" She said out of simple disgust.

The creature emitted a bat-like shriek, then sank its sharp teeth into the raven's leg. The bird swayed a bit, almost causing Zelda to lose her balance, narrowly catching herself on the bird. Zelda quickly took out a dagger from her belt and the next time the bat came close, she swung and clipped its shoulder, shedding blood. The creature squealed in surprise and quickly forgot the bird; a new prey item on its mind. The next time it came around, it flew over the bird instead of at it and narrowly missed Zelda with its eagle-like talons. As Zelda tried to hold on, she realized that she had a bit of trouble on her hands. She had to keep one hand on the bird's head in order to maintain control, while her other hand had to keep the bat at bay. Whoever was the victor would decide EVERYTHING.

--

Goldra emitted a pure evil snarl as he turned back into the dragon, minus one wing, and landed a solid blow across Link's face with a backhand. Link went to the floor, but if anything, the blow only seemed to make Link madder. He was back on his feet as swiftly as he had gone down and landed his own punch across Goldra's face. Goldra was now actually starting to fear his life, but as he turned to try and make a momentary retreat, Link grabbed him by the shoulder, spun him around, and dug his claws into Goldra's throat. Goldra struggled for breath, each one getting more and more strained, all the while Link was roaring in what could only be described as primal fury. Time was short: only about three or five minutes, but suddenly Goldra's breath returned to normal.

A cloud had moved in front of the full moon and Link had changed back into a Hylian. Link suddenly realized that Goldra's neck was larger than his hand and instantly released his throat in surprise. Unarmed, he took this time to get away from Goldra before he got slaughtered. Link jumped back through the hole in the roof as Goldra returned to his human form.

Goldra touched the claw marks on his neck and licked the blood that was dripping from his wounds. After a few seconds, the wounds healed over and he grinned. THIS grin was different; there was something reptilian in it and he looked more like a demon than a human.

"Just a scratch. Guess you're not exactly the famed 'Hero of Time' you claim to be." Goldra jeered down at Link.

With astonishing agility, Goldra jumped down and landed about ten feet from Link. He slowly began walking towards his opponent and each step made Link's beastly instincts want to act up faster. There was only two minutes until midnight and Link was begging that cloud to move in his head.

"I can give your life back to you, Link. Just spit on that mark on your hand and I'll set you free." Goldra said, holding out a hand, "Should you refuse, I'll make you pay. Soon, worms will feast on your flesh just as they did mine. So what do you say?"

"And give up everything I've fought to protect?" Link asked in anger, "Sorry. I'm afraid that can't happen!"

Link's wish was granted and he lurched forward as the cloud shifted again, then the wolf's glint appeared in his eyes as he stood to face Goldra. Goldra saw it happen and transformed to jump away...half a second too slow. Link had already sprung forward and smashed into Goldra, turned into the werewolf in midair, and before Goldra could even react, Link sank his two-inch fangs into Goldra's shoulder.

THIS was different from the time when Link had slashed, punched, or broken a bone. This time, Goldra writhed in pain and screamed as he had never screamed before. Where there should have been blood now, there was a purplish-black gunk. He tried to clean it off him, but when he realized his wound wasn't healing over, he realized that his life had led to nothing in the end. Goldra glared at Link and let out a final roar in hatred and fury before he turned into a fossilized, half-reptilian skeleton. It turned out that his own weapon had been used against him.

--

Outside the fortress, the entire army had fallen to its knees and dissolved into mist the minute Goldra perished. The bat-winged rat that was attacking Zelda stopped in midair, then shrieked in agony and eventually exploded into purple ooze, eerily similar to a certain bug that Zelda defeated a while ago and with similar results: the ooze landed all over Zelda. Zelda had barely started trying to clean herself off when she realized that the raven was one of Goldra's creations. The bird also dissolved and sent Zelda plummeting to the castle below. Luckily for Zelda, she was right above the castle where Link was and she wasn't, altogether, helpless. She gracefully landed on her feet with the skill of the Sheikah and found herself right in front of Kafei.

"There you are!" Kafei said, trying to scold, but was soon cut off by Zelda.

"The army's dying! Link's won!" She said excitedly.

"Yes, but now comes the most dangerous part." Kafei warned, "And we've only got thirty seconds left!"

Zelda looked at Link with suddenness and ran over to the spot where Link killed Goldra. Link was standing there in front of Goldra's skeleton, all the while staring at it as though asking "why?". Zelda didn't have any time to lose, so she quickly put the ocarina to her lips and began playing the Song of Healing. Unfortunately, Link heard her begin and wasted no time in trying something to stop her. He unleashed a primal roar and crossed the distance between the two in just two or three bounds, then reared up, grabbed Zelda by the throat, and began choking her. The impact knocked the Ocarina of Time out of her hand and it slid across the floor...right at Kafei's feet. Zelda desperately tried to draw breath and coughed madly as she tried, in a last-ditch effort, to reach Link in his mind. She tried to speak, but the air for words couldn't pass her lips, and all that escaped was a strangled cry. As Link tried to choke the life out of her, he suddenly heard something over the coughing and gagging...music. Link turned to the source and saw Kafei playing the Song of Healing. Sensing it as a threat, Link immediately dropped Zelda and galloped over to Kafei. He stopped inches from him and had just reared up to his full height when Kafei played the last tune, and with only one second left on the clock.

Link froze in his tracks as immense pain flowed through his body: it was as though a thousand needles were piercing his skin all at the same time. The werewolf dropped to the floor and clutched his skull like a loud noise was ringing in his ears, but there was no noise to drown out. His wolf's skin began bubbling like hot wax and it melted off to reveal the snake that fought the Gerudo pirates. The wolf skin's remains collected on the floor and hardened into a mask that looked like a wolf's head.

The snake's skin turned the color of white chalk and Link started to rip it off like clothes that wouldn't fit. The flakes then took the form of a mask that looked like a coiled snake. The skin underneath was the bumpy hide and bony plates of the crocodile. The scales came off bit-by-bit and fell in the arrangement of a mask that looked like a crocodile's head. The tiger appeared, let out a low, booming roar, and the fur that covered its body started to fall out. The remains also turned into a mask and revealed the bear. The bear's skin appeared to come off like wet paper and revealed the werewolf again. The werewolf let out one final howl before a light came from the moon and Link was back as a Hylian, albeit shirtless. Link remained on his feet for a few seconds, then fell, face-flat, to the floor with a "thud".

"Link? LINK!" Zelda said, shaking him.

Zelda, now fearing Link's life from the curse's removal, rolled him over on his back. She put her ear to his chest and heard the all-too-familiar noise of a beating heart and pumping lungs. He was still alive. He had won, well they ALL won, and Termina was saved again.

_Whew! That was WAY too close. At last, the curse is all gone. Stay tuned for what happens next..._

_BTW, sorry for all the delays. I was trying to move into a new house and I went to a family reunion in Kentucky._


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17: Back to the way it was**

"...ink...ke up...Link...Wake up, Link."

Link slowly opened his eyes and the intense sunlight was enough to make him shut them tight. His eyes adjusted to the sunlight and looked around to find he was in a nice, warm bed. He had been in this situation several times before, but today was different. Link smiled.

"It's gone..." He said in a quiet whisper, "It's finally gone."

Link sat up and saw many friends he made were there. Kafei and Anju were there, so was Romani.

"Link, you nearly died of brain damage. Thank the gods that song forced it out of your head." Kafei joked with a laugh at the end.

Link laughed as well until something snapped into his mind. "Wait...what about the beasts?" Link asked.

Anju smiled, then held up five masks, each one the exact same animal of the curse.

"Don't worry. They're completely safe now. Should you wear them, you'll be in full control instead of them." She answered.

Link took the masks in his arms, then a curious look crossed his face. He glanced over at them and asked, "How do you know?"

Kafei scratched the back of his head as he sheepishly answered, "Couldn't resist. I had to make sure they were safe."

Link mentally sighed to himself. He could use these, not to mention add them to his mask collection. Suddenly, someone else came to mind.

"Where's Zelda?" He asked urgently, "Is she alright?"

"I've seen better days, but I should be fine." A familiar voice answered.

Link looked to the left and saw that Zelda was right at the doorway. She looked like she had gone unprepared into a battle, but was back in the clothes Anju made for her and had a few bandages on her arm and head. This fact was forgotten as she was wearing a smile to make the sun shine.

"Sorry about that, Zelda. I couldn't control it." Link apologized.

"I forgive you. After all, you weren't in control, so I can't blame you." Zelda chirped, and to emphasize the apology, she kissed him on the cheek.

"Did you have to do that in front of all these people?" Link asked in an embarrassed tone.

He instantly noticed that some of the people were sniggering while others were laughing at his response, which was to turn the color of a fresh tomato.

--

"Well, THIS will be something for Termina's history." A large voice said, scaring the heck out of everyone except Link and Zelda.

Kafei, startled, dashed to the window and parted the drapes only to scream in fright as a giant, catlike eye stared at him through the window.

Link got up, then made for the door. He stumbled once or twice, but never fell as he went outside and saw Dracon looking down at him. The dragon had the others with him: Simeon, Garuda, and Mako. Simeon swung down from Dracon's shoulder with the grace of...well, a monkey, Garuda spread his mighty wings and gently glided down to the ground, and Mako simply hopped off Dracon's foot and crossed his arms.

Simeon leapt over to Link and balanced himself on his stick to bring himself to eye level with Link. He then gripped the sides of Link's face to bring him closer.

"WOO HOO! YOU DID IT! I KNEW YOU COULD! Link, you did so good I could kiss ya!" The monkey said. He took Link's hat off and gave him four kisses on the noggin. After the fourth one, the primate spat out some hair and gagged. "Well, maybe not. But I do have this gift for ya. Here." The monkey said as he took out a wooden carving. It was a monkey model, well actually it was three, and he was giving it to Link. One had its hands over its eyes, another was covering its mouth, and the last was covering its ears.

"Uhh…thanks. I think…" Link said.

Garuda went over to Link and said, "You have done well, Link. You killed a being not even we could kill. We are forever grateful."

He plucked a feather from his wing and gave it to Link. Link took it and put it in his pocket with the monkey carving. The eagle gave a bow to Link and returned to the dragon's shoulder like a loyal falcon.

Mako came over with something Link instantly recognized. A conch shell, but it had a hole right at the tip.

"Link, if it wasn't for you, we'd still be trapped in those masks. Take this instrument and use it well." The shark said.

"Mako, this is your conch. I can't have it." Link said as he tried to give the shell back.

The shark simply handed it back and said, in a calm voice, "Keep it. I can always make another one. I'll simply bit another hole in another conch, enough said."

He strode back to the dragon and sat down on one of the dragon's toes. Then, Dracon came. He bent over in order to get a clear vision of Link and spoke.

"Link, as a guardian, I am thankful to anyone who helps me. I have a token of my gratitude for you. If you're in trouble, just call us and we'll help in any way we can." The winged reptile said as he closed his eyes.

"I understand. Thank you." Link said as he bowed to the guardian.

"These masks you keep will tell us your location. They'll also allow you to borrow some of our power. We are free, but some of our strength still exists in the masks we shed. Take them with you and help the troubled lands." The dragon said as he straightened up to his full thirty-foot height, making his brethren look like midgets compared to him.

"It is time we sealed our oath. When we came here, we swore that we wouldn't leave until Goldra was vanquished." The dragon said, "After that, we'll be able to return to our native land of Hyrule."

"See ya 'round!" The monkey said as he raced for the swamp.

"May the winds of destiny bring us together again." The eagle said as he flew off to the mountain.

"Good luck." The shark said as he leapt to the ocean.

"Farewell, Link, my brother." The dragon said as he spread his batlike wings and took off toward the canyon.

In the four corners of Termina, the four guardians came to the tallest point of their destination. Simeon went to the tallest tree in the swamp. Garuda went to the peak of the mountain. Mako went to the highest edge of the seashore. Finally, Dracon went to the very top of the Stone Tower. Once they had reached their destination, each one pulled out an instrument: Simeon brought out a sitar and strummed a tune on its strings, Garuda brought out panpipes and began playing an airy tune, Mako took out another conch instrument and played a somewhat melancholy tune, and last but not least, Dracon brought out several gongs and bashed them with his fists.

The tunes they played echoed for miles and everyone from the ocean to Clock Town heard the music. When the songs ended, a beam of light came down onto them; Dracon's was red, Simeon's was green, Mako's was blue, and Garuda's was white. When the lights cleared, all four guardians had vanished completely.

Link took his gifts in his hands, looked at them again, and decided it was time for him to go.

"C'mon, Zelda. Let's go back to Hyrule." Link said as he beckoned Zelda to follow him.

"Link, where's Epona?" Zelda asked.

"Don't worry. We've got her." Romani said with a chirpy voice.

"Hehe...good. I was thinking that Skull Kid got her again." Link said.

"HEY! What's THAT supposed to mean?!" Skull Kid asked, jumping up and down in fury.

"Exactly what you think it means." Link said before hurrying away.

Link and Zelda went to the ranch and picked up their favorite horse. A final "Thank you" and the two were on their way. And, finally, with a little help from magical forces unknown, they were on their way back to their own world.

The tunnel ended and Link and Zelda were back in the unexplored region of the Lost Woods. When they were sure that it was safe to keep going, they rode back through the forest and back to Hyrule Field.

They were both back at the castle and Impa was waiting for them.

"It's about time you got back. What took you so long?" She asked.

"Uhh..." They both said. They hadn't thought of an excuse to make.

"Oh, never mind. Welcome back, Zelda."

Link and Zelda shared a long kiss and went their separate ways. Zelda walked back to the castle and Link went off to his cottage on the brim of the Lost Woods. Another day, another world saved.

THE END!!


End file.
